What do your kids call their genitals?

[BellissimoGecko]

Not a troll, honest! I'm editing a book aimed at kids aged 3-6 about bodies, and the author has suggested using 'fanny'.

I never referred to DD's bits as a fanny! But I didn't use vulva either... what do you/your dc that age call their bits?!

How is it different to "sholder blade" being a common term for the scapula, or "collar bone" for the clavicle?
I think it's actually setting genitals apart as different from the rest of the body to insist on using latin / anatomical terms.

Willy is perfect! I wish there was an equally well known term for girls.

From an editing pov think about your audience - if in the US then fanny will mean something different than in the UK.

“Fanny” is quite crude to my mind, maybe on the same level as “dick”, not just little kid-slang like “willy”. In some regions/families that probably isn’t the case and it’s on the same level as “willy”, but I’d take it out as you would risk getting complaints.

What do we call it… my son uses “willy”, “balls”, “front bottom”, “baby hole” (I called it a vagina but when I explained what it was/where his baby brother was going to come out, the name stuck…) but knows “penis” (after initial confusion with “peanuts”), “vagina” and “vulva”.

There is nothing wrong with willy

Penis and vulva. Never taught them any made-up names for them.

I have a 6yo DD, and I've always used the correct names (vulva/vagina). DD, however, calls it her dengo, and has done since she was about two. She does know the correct terminolgy, but prefers to use dengo. I don't know where she got the term from, as she started using it during lockdown when we didn't see anyone. I just leave her to it.

I think it needs to be the correct names . My children know the correct names and rightly so. In the world we live in , it’s important they know correct terminology and understand their bodies.
As parents , it is our duty to protect and educate them .

Safety and clarity would be the obvious one.

Almost everyone know those terms, because they are self explanatory. The collar bone is the bone that sits in a collar shape around your neck. The shoulder blades are the blade like bones that stick out. Cookie, flower, pussy, foo foo, fairy, etc., do not describe a vulva and could refer to biscuits, roses, cats, bunnies and fantasy creatures with wings.

In the unlikely event that someone says "shoulder blade" and someone else doesn't know what that means, you can just point to it. Not so easy with a vulva. If a child comes in to school and tells a story relating to someone touching their shoulder blade, it doesn't really matter if they meant scapula. A bit different if their wittering on about flowers and no-one knows they are trying to disclose CSA.

My kids call it a 'weewee' (they're both females). They are well aware of the anatomical names (I am a nurse) and they often correct people proudly calling it a vagina that it's actually a vulva. However, day to day, vulva and vagina feel very clinical (they wouldn't say I need to wipe my anus they'd say I need to wipe my bum!) so weewee serves its purpose!

Only a DS here but we use a wide range of slang terms including some sweary ones which he fully understands can’t be used outside the house - willy, knob, balls, nonnocks which was his cute term after hearing his dad say bollocks. We all had a good giggle together when he said ‘penis’ after having a talk about it school, as it sounded so formal - he now also uses this as well as the others.

We are very relaxed and open about talking about our bodies, and are careful to never shame him for anything body-related (other than being big on consent and saying he must stop touching someone’s body immediately if they say stop, eg when playing, tickling, hugging etc). I don’t subscribe to this notion that we must only use correct anatomical terms for children’s genitals, if you don’t use those for your own - we just use the terms we use. We will know exactly what he means whenever he wants to talk to us about anything.

Everyone knows what a willy is.

It sounds like there is a specific section where the author talks about slang words that kids might hear as well
as the correct name which is probably ok but I wonder if age appropriate for kids of 3-6. If anyone is of my vintage and remembers “Diary of a Teenage Health Freak” there was a similar section which catalogued them all but obviously aimed at older kids.

I’d say Fanny is the one I hear most often and I’d just consider it the equivalent of Willy.

My kids say 'fanny' which I think is gross so they find it hysterical.

I think that as long as they know the correct names they can choose what they like.
DD went through a phase of poonani a la Ali G (thanks BIL) but then settled on VJJ.
DS always chose "willy" or "tackle", which is what DH uses.

We use winky and lady bits - the proper terminology have been taught but these are what have stuck at the moment.

You should contact the NSPCC and ask them how to do this in such a way it doesn't undermine safeguarding. This isn't something you want to get wrong.

my nan used to call ours a Tutney Peice 🤣 whatever that is. I always called mine a fanny. but completely agree with people don't think this should be even in the book.

A lot of girls when I was young said that I use the word doodah very strangely I still sometimes say that as an adult lol

I would not put it in the book, however we just use the proper names.

They say Willy but also penis.

Willy/Winky & Mini/Fanny.

Not sure I'd trust the NSPCC

Willy and nuts

When my adult children were younger (30 years) it was referred to as willy, dick or one eyed snake and for girls fairy, fanny, noo noo or foo foo. Thankfully we used vaginia and penis and so when they had 'the talk' at school they were already aware of correct names. If I remember right going for a wee was called twinkling but not sure how common that was.