Is it wrong for my 8 year old to say she needs a pee instead of a wee?

[feellikeanalien]

AIBU. My 8 year old has had some issues about using the toilet at school and the teachers and teaching assistants have been helping her with this.

She a attends a small rural first school (69 pupils) and is in a composite Year 1/Year 2 class.

The other morning in the playground the headmistress called me aside and said that they were trying to get my DD to ask for a wee instead of a pee.

I was slightly surprised as I did not really see any problem with this and when I spoke to my DD about it she said that they had told her that it was a bit of a rude word.

Generally the school is fantastic and very supportive and I am wondering if I am being a little over sensitive about this.

Any ideas?

Perhaps she should just announce a visit to the throne room and have done.

'Surprised that so many people are happy for their children to speak like this.'

Surprised at what? That people are happy for their kids to use a childish euphemism for urinate that is no ruder than 'wee'?

Ha ha, I love tell the teachers she's going for a Jimmy Riddle . Brilliant!

At her age, I'd have had great fun in coming up with phrases that would shock if I'd been told not to use pee.

I once worked with a teacher who taught the children in her class to ask "please, may I go to the lavatory? ". It wasn't an issue though, whatever the children said. Jumping up and down, legs crossed used to get a swift " off you go! " as they were only 4 and 5 yrs old!

In Germany pee is fine, my 16mo DD says it all the time, when she's wet, when she sees her wet nappy after changing, when she sees any bucket (as that's where her nappies go when she's peed). Being British I thought it was ruder than wee but then I am a delicate flower

I need the bathroom or loo.

I fucking hate that ONE person can decide what is rude or not.

Pee/wee is not rude.

CrystalMcPistol

But it is ruder. Yout inability to consult a dictionary does not make it less so.

Anything but bog is fine in my book.

Although I came home the other day and heard the workman say he needed to 'pinch one off'

Whirly well you are certainly very rude but 'pee' isn't.

HTH.

Nonsense.

Refer her to this www.eric.org.uk/Schools - free pack and support for kids toileting issues in school.

She shouldn't be getting hung up on language, but being glad that your daughter asks!

How ridiculous. Pee isn't rude.

I rather thought a colourful example using a swearword and an almost identical 'cousin' that meant... nothing would illustrate the point that sometimes... visceral reactions to words just are.

Yes, 'pee' is a word and I have never denied that. I don't avoid using it in polite company because it's not a word! The English language is not a monolith. The connotations and politeness of many words change across the country and this is one of them. Which is why I took care to say "I feel" in my first post (descriptive of use) as opposed to "it is" (prescriptive of use).

I wouldn't say "need a wee" at work, because I am not a toddler, and I wouldn't say "need a pee/piss/slash" because they're not appropriate either.

Bananalanacake, when she starts kindi, she'll be announcing that she needs to do a kaka. I've got two children at kindi now and I will never get used to 'mama, ich habe kaka gemacht!'

Peepee and weewee both fine!

My daughter used to announce that she needed to empty her bladder.

Nothing wrong with pee!

Well crystal, I'd rather be blunt than thick.

Teach her, in her poshest voice

Please, mrs-whatever-the-teacher-is-called

I wish to amble to the convenience device invented by mr Thomas crapper.
Once there, I wish to urinate, and possibly defacate.

I hope these actions are within the realm of acceptable, at this time?

(Teacher... Pardon? )

Dd... I need to pee...

(My dd is very polite about toilet issues. Normally it's "please dd do a wee wee on the potty or toilet now"

Which is surprising, as every other sentence is 'I want book' or 'me want food' or dd want drink'

I would be expecting all school-age children to be asking if they can go to the toilet, not using the words wee or pee! I'm Scottish, pee isn't a rude word, it's the normal word to use, wee sounds funny.

We also say pee here (Scotland). Wee means small

A singl' fish is rhyming slang for a pish here

Well this thread isn't about the words that you choose to use Tara. It's about an 8 year old child.

Or she could just ask to go to the toilet rather than specifying which one she is going for. Maybe she could say she needs a number 1

Bertie, I'm afraid it is actually short for 'piss' and is nothing to do with US English.

dictionary.reference.com/browse/pee

www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=pee

Not sure why this is so important to me though

We use wee/pee/use the loo interchangeably in this house. Very as to what rude about it.

And even more at those who think only 'use the loo' is acceptable as we don't need to know what happens in there. It's just peeing, we all do it.

Well crystal, I'd rather be blunt than thick

Hilarious Whirly. Do tell me how you come up with these oh so witty rejoinders? I'm positively agog!

'Yout inability to consult a dictionary does not make it less so.'

By the way Whirly it's 'your' not 'yout'.

You're welcome