AIBU to be surprised that a boy in my 6 year old DD's class........

[ThoughtsPlease]

told her that her shortened name, which she likes to be called, is only 1 letter away from a name for a girl's bottom! I am not sure exactly what term he used, but my DD said this. She then went on to say that she didn't know what name he meant.

It is true, when you shorten her name this is the case, I have no problem with this, I don't really mind that someone has said this to her obviously I knew at some point someone would, but I am surprised that it was from a peer when she was just 6.

Her name is Francesca, and she likes to be called Frannie.

AIBU to be surprised by this from a 6 year old boy?

I think it's a comment she will encounter many more times in coming years!

At the age of 6 some children will know/understand more than others.

He could have heard the term fanny on a US tv programme. It means bottom there.

Oh yes I know she will, I was just surprised.

I got the gist that he didn't mean bottom!

I once heard a mother explain to her 3 year old that her new baby sister would come out of mummy's fanny, so sadly nothing surprises me.

Fanny is an abbreviation for Frances. Dick is an abbreviation for Richard.

I'm not surprised that a comment has come from a six year old boy. Six year olds tend to be immature and into toilet humour.

Is fanny a very rude word? I thought it was like willy, a bit crude but ok for children to say.

Fair point ReallyTired, I have 2 DDs and a DS but he is only 1, so have not yet experienced 'boy humour'!

Isn't fanny the matching word to Willy and the word used when talking about female genitalia with small children?

I had to warn my 7 year old sister not to laugh when meeting my ds's niece as her full name is Fanny ( she not from an English speaking country)

why would it be surprising? does a 6 year old boy have neither mother nor sisters? or do you mean it is good spelling? is fanny rude where you live? for me, it is the normal word for labia

No I don't necessarily think it is rude, but not really a term that I would use with young children.

is that a local thing? its what i tell my dd its called, and 'willy' for boys, so i guess the Williams of the world get the same from 6 year old girls

I was always of the understanding that fanny was an extremely rude word - I don't know anyone in real life who uses it, except that one mum, and I know my fair share of people with colourful vocabularies. The day she said it, the room fell silent and everyone shuffled about looking at their feet.

It seems to be a regional thing, to me it's a crude word that I wouldn't use with children (or at all really) but on a thread about hat terms people use it came up a lot.

am interested now, what do people near you call the 'front bottom'?

YABU to be surprised because it isn't surprising. This is what 6 year old boys and girls find funny.

It gets worse...

Fanny is a very commonly used term in some areas.

I remember recoiling in horror when it was suggested to me (by her teachers) that it was the word used when teaching dc2 body parts (dc2 is disabled, at a SN school, and we get a lot of input into curriculum and how it is taught - thankfully!) Mind you, I couldn't come up with a suitable alternative (I was all for correct anatomical terms, teachers were aiming for 'willy and ?')

So clearly to some it is 'just' a word, bandied about easily, and therefore it is not that shocking that it is known and used by a 6 year old (dc2 was 5 when this was discussed with us)

having read some of the "what do your kids call their privates" threads on here, it doesnt surprise me in the least that a child would know that word and the meaning of it..

Fanny is really rude here (in deepest, darkest N.West England).

Yeah, maybe its regional. It would definitely be considered very offensive round here.

What do those of you who don't use fanny call female genitalia?

Fanny is not a horribly rude word. I agree with it being on a par with willy. I don't have much experience of 6 year old boys, but I don't think it is all that surprising.

Fanny's not a particularly rude word. And if you have a name that shortens to it then I'm afraid you have to deal with it- in the same way that Williams have to deal with Willy, amd Minnies with Minnie. And my children witht h part of their last name that is one letter away from a rude word.

Which bit were you surprised by, him knowing the word, being able to spell well enough to see the connection or him telling her?

By the way, it's very important that you're cool about her deciding that she wants to use a different shortening of her name- luckily she's to several choices.

Vulva.

I wouldn't be surprised to her a child say it, but I wouldn't teach it to a child as the chosen phrase for it, bit crude. Popular choices here (south wales) seem to be foo, minnie, girl bits, that sort of thing.