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?

In all fairness, even though I do think pee is coarse, I wouldn't have approached a parent about it. I would have just told the child what I expected eg Can I go to the toilet please? Which would be the same for any child unless there are language /communication issues.

I also don't like belly.

Feminist take on this, which I stole from somewhere:

I think "Pee" and "piss" come from "penis", and "Wee" comes from "willie".
Why don't we start saying "Vee" (for "Vagina" or "Vulva").

"Please excuse me while I vee." "I'm just going for a viss."

I dont find pee rude, and fine wee twee...

The Head obviously has too much time her hands! I don't think pee sounds chavvy or rude but perhaps American. But really, isn't there more important things for the Head to be worrying about?

Why don't we start saying "Vee" (for "Vagina" or "Vulva").

Because we don't pee (Ah!) from our vaginas?

When I was a child pee was considered rude. It wouldn't cause me to raise my eyebrows these days, however.

At school my first teacher insisted that when we wanted to go to the toilet we had to say "Please may I leave the room?"

She left and the next teacher, when faced with this request, would snap sarkily "Well you can't take it with you can you?"

Now that's unreasonable!

I think "pee" sounds vulgar, but that's probably because the only person I've ever known to use it was a very vulgar man.

As others have said, in Scotland 'wee' means small, so I always think (possibly incorrectly) that 'going for a wee' is a very English thing to say.

I do think there tends to be generational differences too.

My children and I go to the 'loo'; my Grandmother used the 'WC' (if she ever referred to it at all), and my (fearfully correct in every possible other way) Mother called it the 'bog' ... a word she used to snort out loudly, almost as if challenging anyone to dare try and stop her!

We were brought up to say wee. Pee was definitely a rude word, we understood it to mean piss. I've never heard a child say pee and tbh would be a bit taken aback if I did hear it. Maybe it's a regional thing? I'm from the westcountry if it makes any difference

I don't know anyone who says 'wee' but maybe it's an English thing. In Glasgow everyone I know says 'pee.'

Starling, I did chuckle at this 'very vulgar man' - I'm picturing Danny Dyer loping about and shouting 'I need a fucking pee!'

And 'kaka' means 'brother' in Kiswahili!

Can't be a coincidence. My brother is a total shit.

Though if I was being a dickhead pedantic, would it be wrong to say that presumably East African languages don't relate to Indo-European ones, and therefore it probably is a coincidence. Or do they?

I once had a colleague who said "I'm just going to squeeze my lemon"
A phrase I have since pinched and use now and again. I'd love to be a fly on the wall if your daughter said that in class

I'm now off to the urination station...

...and rinse the lettuce.

During toilet training we say 'do you need a pee pee?' (Well I did and I'm from Scotland) does that mean I am asking them if they need a piss piss...??

I never said 'do you need a wee?' As they would ask 'a wee what?'

I'm fascinated by all the Scottish people on here saying "wee means small so we say pee". When I was growing up in Scotland we always said "weewee" to mean urinate and nobody ever got confused with small things. At school I'm fairly sure we're were taught to say "Please can I go to the toilet?". That sort of led to phraseology like "Muum, Bobby just did the toilet on the rug" which is obviously not right, but at least still means no need for distinguishing between urination and defecation.

To me "pee" is a bit coarse and I'm not surprised it jarred with the teacher.

I remember the horror on the face of an English child if my friend once when I said "let me give you a wee cuddle".

I say I'm going for a comfort stop

"Urination station" - I like that.

The Old English word for toilet was "Kak-hus" - I like that too.

...Going down the yellow river..

I think we should come up with a list of ways the OP's DD can ask! :D

haven't read the full thread but why is an 8 yr old in a Y1/2 class.Surely she is Y3 or Y4?

It would be much more polite to ask to be excused to use the toilet/bathroom/lavatory than refer to the bodily function she is proposing to do!!

I remember in a TV documentary a woman, a professor I think, asking her toddler if he wanted to piss or shit.

I think she must have put some thought into that, so maybe those are the best words.

When I was very small I took a huge dislike to the word bum. I thought it was the rudest word EVER. Not only did I try to stop people saying bum, but I wanted them not to use it as part of words- I tried to get my family to say bottomblebee and albottom, etc.

Pointless and unhelpful post but for some reason this is what the OP made me think of.

Lwegi

Couldn't give a fuck love I am working class.

Oh hate belly ache it sounds so fat. Like fatty give bellies.

Prefer tummy