"Piccaninnies" is definitely verboten. "Papooses", however, still seems to be acceptable in most quarters at this point, oddly enough...perhaps because it stems from (or is) an actual Native American word...like "wigwam", and a host of others.

I have always wondered if other groups of people than we caucasians have come up with cute names for our babies? I know that Asians sometimes have referred to us (in their languages) as "round-eyes". Is that pejorative? Not to me. Apaches referred to us as "white-eyes". The Lakota referred to us as "wasichus", which essentially meant much the same thing. I figure there's a nice way and a nasty way to say it, but you can't pick that up so easily off the printed page.

Anyway, better not sing "piccaninnies", mate!

- LH