What should I call the vagina?

[Mrsapea]

Dear all

I have a 3 year old boy and a 3 week old little girl. My little boy is very helpful and likes to pass me the nappies when changing. As is normal with kids he talks about his little sister and her body; during a nappy change he asked me why she didn't have a willy and what she did have. I told him it was called a "front bottom" but that adults call it a "vagina". Both these explanation sound either silly or too anatomical.

What would you guys recommend I call it?
Many thanks
Mrsapea

[steppyhen]

my mum used to call it a minnie!

[musttidyupBeforeSantaComes]

I'm sure that I know how this will turn out - a squabble over using 'cutsie'' names v anatomical ones plus the argument of vagina versus vulva etc.
FWIW I call it a tuppy (from my childhood, boys have a penny ha'penny an girls have a tuppence ) but I do tell them 'but these are funny names we use -its really called a _'
I know lots of people who use Minnie but I think the whole mouse/car/skirt thing could be confusing....

[Tee2072Thing]

Call it the vagina.

Yes, yes I know that's not technically correct as only part of it is the vagina but, honestly, it's only on MN I have ever heard that to be a problem and I have read millions of messages boards over the last 15 years.

It was a good enough term for my mom to use with me, it's a good enough term now.

[lifestuff]

My little girls has always called it her flower and my little boys calles his a tail not sure how they names came across but it works for my kids lol x

[lifestuff]

My little girls has always called it her flower and my little boys calles his a tail not sure how they names came across but it works for my kids lol x

[GreatCongas]

If you're going to use a proper word like vagina then use vulva

[prettybird]

At primary schools in Glasgow, they are taught the word vulva (matter-of-factly, alongside foot, head, arm, hand and penis)

[Tee2072Thing]

Why use vulva, though, over vagina? Neither is 100% accurate, so why does it matter which you use?

NB: I don't have a daughter so this is just an academic exercise to me.

[musttidyupBeforeSantaComes]

Pudendum then?rolls of the tongue doesn't it?

[kickassmomma]

Dds dad and his side of the family call it a 'fruity'... I just say girly bit

[noisytoys]

We just call the whole area bum bum. Front bum + back bum = bum bum

[GreatCongas]

Because vulva is external and vagina is internal. I suspect a small child will be talking about their external bits

My dd calls it her girly bits. It's what she started calling it so we stuck with it for now

[prettybird]

But the vulva is the correct term for what children see, ie the "external sexual organs". Vagina is the internal bit.

[badguider]

Tee - why do you say vulva isn't 100% correct? I am pretty sure it is the external genitals of any female mammal?
Given children are almost always talking about 'what they can see' then i would say vulva is correct?

[izzyhasanewchangeling]

Vagina and willy here.

[ChristmasJubilee]

We say front bottom.

[Tee2072Thing]

Because the area isn't 100% the vulva any more than it is 100% the vagina.

No one said 'well the part you can see is the vulva' did they? Not until just now. And, actually, if you're going by what you can see then MustTidy is the one who is 100% correct.

So, to me, who has always called it the vagina, thinks vagina is what to call it.

Perhaps because vagina seems to be the opposite of a penis, which is what I call my son's penis?

[juneybean]

I say foof but agree vulva is the correct term.

[CatchingMockingbirds]

I've recently had to explain this to my 5yr old son too as we're pg with a little girl, I've went with 'vagina and penis', and he now says 'Gina and P or winkie' (because he kept forgetting the word penis).

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

The vulva has many major and minor anatomical structures, including the labia majora, mons pubis, labia minora, clitoris, bulb of vestibule, vulval vestibule, greater and lesser vestibular glands, and the opening of the vagina.

How is this not 100% correct?

[TheOneWithTheHair]

Minky here although all the dcs know the correct names.

I don't think it matters really as they'll learn as they grow.

[CatchingMockingbirds]

I've seen the word minky been used before but just on mn, it sounds too much like manky to me. When I was young it was always flower.

[musttidyupBeforeSantaComes]

[redwellybluewelly]

We call them bits or little bits as that's what her best friend uses and it just seemed ok at the time.

She calls it her weewee which I can live with for now.

[TheOneWithTheHair]

I've heard it on MN too but this predates it. Dd is 9 now and I've been on here a year.

We found it very funny when I bought a new ironing board cover that said Minky on it.