What word do your children use for female genitals?

[frannyf]

Apologies if this has been asked before, but this is becoming an urgent issue in our household. Ds is 2.5 and has just started asking "Where is your willy, Mummy?" I told him women and girls don't have willies...and then froze.

I don't want him to think that girls just have an empty area where a willy should be, I want him to realise we have our own special bits, but I cannot settle on a word I feel comfortable with.

"Vagina" is so medical. "Flower" and all those sort of words seem too cutesie. I feel "fanny" is the right equivalent to "willy", and did try it, but I just cringed saying it to ds and felt even worse when he repeated it. I obviously did not sound convincing anyway as he has reverted to calling it a bottom. Help! Sorry if I have rejected your family's choice of name by the way, I don't think any of them are wrong or anything, just don't feel right saying them myself. Am I hopelessly uptight?

A lulu.

yes it has!

we just say bits

girls have their willies built in; much more sensible. we just call the whole works "bottom".

Bits. (No imagination)

Hmmm, have just been trying to decide this myself. I am trying out nunu at the moment but really not sure. Mine was always a front bottom when I was small but I am not sure I like that either but at the moment dd1 has had ladies bits which CANNOT go on.

vulva. fringe benefit - seeing MIL's face when dd says "grandma, I've got a lovely vulva!"

Oh x-posted with bits users. It's not that bad then?? I thought I would be shot down for that one!! . Maybe I will stick with it. It seems the easiest for me to remember lol.

No words whatsoever. That part of the anatomy has never been discussed and I can't see the need for that to change until they are much older when the correct terminology will be adopted.

perhaps different though because she's a girl (obv...) and I want her to know the proper word in case she needs to tell me it hurts or whatever.

Well if nobody minds I appreciate the recap.

Am going to put ds to bed but will read all when I get back.

I don't think he will be fobbed off with "bottom" - he is getting very specific these days. Wanted to know the names of what he perceived as about 10 different parts of my breast yesterday! Maybe I should just wear clothes more often??

Ah now my children called breast boobs after I caouldn't face referring to them as breasts (which I see as a sexual term) when they were younger. The other day ds2 (7) confidently announced that dd would one day have boobs at which I realised how bad that sounded and quickly corrected him to breasts - but I do hate hearing that word on a child's lips.

Just saw your post lonely mum - do you mean that your children have never asked what their genitalia are called? I am amazed!

Mine haven't frannyf, and the eldest is 12!

Blimey! How come I get the nosey child who sits pointing and saying "and what's this bit called? And what's this bit called?" ad infinitum. When I said I didn't know he started making up names - "These are the bumpies. This is the nobble." ROFL

Absolutely never. I have three boys and one girl and they all know that the male genital is called a willy, and the older three know that women and girls don't have a willy, but none of them have felt the need to ask what women have instead. Why should they assume women have anything instead? I know I didn't when I was their age!

I say 'Fanny'. I used to call it a 'fanny' as a little girl. I think euphemisms ('front bottom', 'twinkie' etc) just store up problems for later life. 'Vagina' is too medical, too grown up, and literally translated means 'sheath' so not very appropriate or empowering.

The problem is with society. We haven't worked out an acceptable and united terminology for womenb's bits. I mean, the swear word generally regarded as the worst means 'fanny' so what's that about?

Indicative of a deeper malaise and discomfort about women if you ask me. But then I have had two rather large glasses of wine already this evening. (Hjic)

I quite like 'yoni'. I think it's Sanscrit or something. I considered using it but felt a bit pretentious. For me 'fanny' was the only way forward. (MIL winces at it though).

I have a dd and we use nunu (creole word that my mum always used) as we were growing up and I do now.

I'm sure I'm not the first person to say this on here (today even...) but it is pretty inaccurate to say vagina, because that's not what you're looking at.
you're right spidermama it is a bit Odd and Telling that female genitals are so unmentionable. (But then I have had a glass of wine too.) If we tell our children what every other part of the body is called (without them asking) then why leave out that part? what kind of message does that send?
(can't believe I am posting about vulvas while I still have this ludicrous name )

Isn't it funny how boys have a willy, widgie, tail, winkie.....but when it comes to Girls it is so hard to decide what to call it!!

I hear so many Mums talk about this, we are all the same!!

We were brought up to call it our privates!!

It's a tuppence!!

Those who never called it anything, what did you tel your DD to wipe when she started going on the toilet?!!

Not keen on fanny myself, sounds a bit rude!!lol

would be v embarassed if my DD said that one out loud!!!!!!!lol

Fanny.

Which did lead to DD1 asking loudly a year ago 'what's that on your fanny?' to which the answer was 'it's my willy, thank you' from her slightly embarrassed dad.

IHC is right. vagina is not the correct term. it's vulva.