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?!

Willy and Toot when my DC were growing up 🙈

Happy to say at 18 and 20 they do know and use the correct terminology!

I loathe the word Fanny and never ever use it. For some reason I think it sounds really vulgar and crude.

Vulva, vagina (if applicable), penis. Occasionally Willy.

No No Square when we’re dancing.

But ‘vagina’ refers to the inner area, not the outer bits, which is what the OP presumably means.
I just wish there was a universally understood ‘friendly’ name for girls, an equivalent to ‘willy’. My Gdd1 recently referred to her ‘flower’ which is a new one on me. I’ve previously heard ‘fanjo’, too.

Even adults don't use it in normal conversation FFS!

Yes but they also don't use foo foo, or minnie, or fairy, or whatever else has been suggested so I'm not sure that's a reasonable criticism.

I'm not sure I ever refer to it in normal conversation except at the doctor's, in which case I would use vulva if that's what I was talking about. Otherwise it doesn't really come up. We use vagina and vulva with DDs but again, it's really not that frequently discussed.

Fanny = bottom across the pond. Hence in an American novel I once read, 'He patted her fanny as he went past.' 😱😂

Vulva and penis for the bits you can see. There are too many slang variations to be able to just pick one for a book, I wouldn’t have had a clue what a fairy was, I didn’t even learn the word Fanny until I was a lot older!! I think Fanny is a horrible word.

I don’t know why we need silly names, just harks back to people being awkward and shameful about genitalia which is not ideal, especially for women - we’ve had a lifetime of shame, be nice to knock that on the head for future generations.

My kids are that age, they say willy and fanny, but they know the words penis and vulva as well.

DD is 5 and she knows the biological names but in our house they're just "bits". I agree it would be helpful if there was a universal "informal" name, like boys get willy.

I don't get the fuss about using "anatomical names" though. We use bum, tummy, boob, etc. which everyone knows what they mean but aren't the "proper" names. No different here.

I do understand the issue with names like flower, cookie etc. as there's far too much room for misunderstanding.

Willy Wonka and Mini Moo.

No they don't use child terms like fairy either...

Willy. Foo

But know the correct terms

Willy and vulva

Then vagina in the context of how babies usually make their egress

DH's suggestion for DD's vulva when she was a baby was "lady bottom" 🤣

Same here. DD is 5 and we just use bum and bits.

I don't understand everyone's insistence at getting young children to say vagina and vulva. As many have said, I'm sure you don't refer to their anus in the same way and we all use other terms like tummy so it is no different in my mind. My daughter knows what they are but chooses to use the word bits as that is what she is comfortable saying in front of people and we all know what she means.

Yes and people get very uppity on here about the word vulva and that it must be used correctly etc. very bizarre.

Personally I find the term vulva just as bad as fanny.

Correct me if I'm wrong (which I think I probably am!) but is that where the words "cunt" and "pillock" derived from? Actually, on second thoughts... I'll probably Google the answer to that one as it doesn't sound right! 🤔😳😅

We use willy and fanny (not considered overly rude in my part of the UK) but daughter also knows penis, testicles and vagina.

I don't shy away from correct terminology if she asks about something outright, and I'm not a prude, but I think willy and fanny are pretty standard terms. Noone in my part of the world would be confused if DD started talking about her fanny or someone's willy.

Front bottom when very little and then fanny. Know the correct terms but really how often do you need to refer to a tiny child’s vagina - it’s inside!!! There isn’t a standard informal term for the whole female ‘front bottom’ area, but that’s what small children need to use - have you wiped, it’s sore, mosquito bite location etc!! It’s a really bad idea to have a small child refer to the whole area as their vagina - they might get sore from eg hot weather and car seat strap between the legs, or nappy rash but having a ‘hurty vagina’ would be hugely concerning. Like saying you had a hurty rectum instead of a hurty poo hole. Very misleading. If you are going to use the correct terms it’s really important you do actually use them correctly!!

Privates

Willy and front bum/foof.

I'm sure as an editor she already knows this.

For oenis/testes:
Willy
Balls
Wee man

For vulva:
Flower
Minnie
Foof
Daisy

For both:
Bits
Front bum

My 2 year old says Penis. Didn't occur to me to call it anything else. Vulva/vagina will be used (yes I do know which is what part).