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Original poster

Word for toddler girl private parts...

245 replies

Blessedbethefruitz · 13/10/2023 19:23

Weird question, sorry! Huge searchable history on here, I'm not a troll!

With ds it was easy - willy is freely used across the UK.

But I want dd 20 months to have a word to describe her vulva/vagina, for if she's hurt, needs a wee, has a uti etc. Right now she seems to think it's her bottom as I refer to changing her bottom/nappy. I don't want something ridiculous like flower, or something gross like minge or fanny. What's usual in your home/circles/region? She knows when she needs a 'wee wee' from copying her big brother. I could use that I suppose?

OP posts:
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WeWereInParis · 13/10/2023 20:06

@Vinrouge4 I would use penis for a boy. Although I only have two very young DDs so it's not as much of a need to say it of course. But I'm aware that some people are uncomfortable with vulva/vagina, so an equally widely used word would be useful.

twinmum2022 · 13/10/2023 20:06

I'll probably end up using noonie but agree it's regional!

Schools and nurses will get the gist of whatever she calls it.

PinkMoscatoLover · 13/10/2023 20:08

Vinrouge4 · 13/10/2023 20:01

Can you explain the difference between vagina and vulva to me

Show quote history

I just came to respond to you but I see your question has already been answered by other posters:)

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Families General parenting Potty training
Smiffette · 13/10/2023 20:09

Similar to many other posts, we use Vagina or privates.

BodegaSushi · 13/10/2023 20:09

I really hope you get something other that the smug replies.

It seems like it's universally acceptable to use 'Willy' as a 'cutesy' name, but there isn't a standard word for vulva.

As a non-Brit I find this quite bizarre. I once asked friends what they used growing up and one said 'fanny' though I'm not sure if that's appropriate, and another said 'nunu'. Front Bottom is vile, but would be useful to know a generic, non-vulva word to use similar to 'Willy'.

BodegaSushi · 13/10/2023 20:09

icelollycraving · 13/10/2023 19:41

In our family it’s mini.

I like this!

OneMoreStepAlongTheRoadIGo · 13/10/2023 20:11

I had never heard mini or tuppence til my kids were 7 or 8 and I was talking about this woth other parents.

So if a small child had disclosed to me I wouldn't have had a clue unless they had other mannerisms with it. Minnie "he touched my minnie" without context id have assumed a toy Minnie mouse...

This is why its so important. Even foof I thought referred to fluffy public hair. Like foofy hair...

BodegaSushi · 13/10/2023 20:12

Sorry, for the 'they won't know what they meeeeeean' brigade, if a child says to you 'my mini hurts' or 'Uncle Tom touched my mini' and you just go 'oh nice dear' and don't ask them what they mean or say point or show me, then you're an idiot who shouldn't be caring for children.

I looked after a girl who told me her bottom hurt. I said show me where. She pointed to the area of her body where her vulva would be under her clothes. It wasn't rocket science.

pleasefuckinggodno · 13/10/2023 20:12

Front bottom, or vagina.

Onlywords · 13/10/2023 20:12

My girls use vulva but also use wee hole, baby hole and poo hole. It was never my intention but it just grew out of discussing the role of the various parts of their ‘bottom’.

SawX · 13/10/2023 20:13

GFgd · 13/10/2023 20:02

What else could front bottom possibly mean though? If a child said someone had touched their front bottom it’s literally the exact same as saying they’d touched their vulva. There’s nothing else it could be

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I'm not going to link it for obvious reasons, but you can find online testimony from a little girl who, when describing the crimes commited against her, kept switching between saying "front bottom" and "bottom" in descriptions. It introduced enough ambiguity for the defence to attack her reliability. If she had been taught vulva and vagina it wouldn't have happened.

If you can stomach the search terms you'll find plenty of other examples.

Original poster
Blessedbethefruitz · 13/10/2023 20:13

That's a lot of comments! Maybe I'll ask nursery what they use...

I'm not sure on vulva as when (at least for me) I have a uti, it's not my vulva that hurts! I didn't want to bring up safeguarding but it is naturally a concern I've read about on here. It rolls off the tongue better than vagina somehow.

I've escaped the word with ds (4.5), he just knows and has seen we don't have willies. He knows the word penis too. I also escaped childbirth discussions so far as when he asked about his sister while pregnant, I'd had a planned cesarean for breech with him and was thinking the same for her, although did ultimately vbac...

Vulva could be a good one, even if not always accurate while she's little, for anatomical correctness. No ambiguity for health and childcare professionals.

OP posts:
ActDottie · 13/10/2023 20:14

soxthecat22 · 13/10/2023 19:27

What's wrong with using the word vagina?

This

twinmum2022 · 13/10/2023 20:15

BodegaSushi · 13/10/2023 20:12

Sorry, for the 'they won't know what they meeeeeean' brigade, if a child says to you 'my mini hurts' or 'Uncle Tom touched my mini' and you just go 'oh nice dear' and don't ask them what they mean or say point or show me, then you're an idiot who shouldn't be caring for children.

I looked after a girl who told me her bottom hurt. I said show me where. She pointed to the area of her body where her vulva would be under her clothes. It wasn't rocket science.

Hit the nail on the head

Vinrouge4 · 13/10/2023 20:15

WeWereInParis · 13/10/2023 20:03

But why though? I mean, I know it's a common view so I do apologise for singling you out with my question! But I am actually genuinely interested in the thinking behind that opinion.

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it just seems so clinical for a toddler. Would you expect them to say they had defecated instead of having a poo or that they needed to urinate?

BodegaSushi · 13/10/2023 20:16

GoodVibesHere · 13/10/2023 20:02

I bet you don't make your toddlers say I need to urinate or defecate, or 'mummy I've had a bowel movement'. Bet you say wee or poo.

What about if your child farts? Bet it's a fluff or a windy-pops or whatever 😀

I'm still laughing over the poster who said their toddler would see a pregnant woman and say the baby is in her uterus 😂

Ohhhhhhkaaaaay

DaisyChain16 · 13/10/2023 20:17

My DD1 has been able to say and point to her vulva since she was about 18 months old. She's now 2.5 and knows she has a vulva and a vagina like I do and her dad has a penis. I don't get the angst over using the anatomical names. She also knows about conception and pregnancy and how she and her sister were born.

WeightoftheWorld · 13/10/2023 20:17

Blessedbethefruitz · 13/10/2023 20:13

That's a lot of comments! Maybe I'll ask nursery what they use...

I'm not sure on vulva as when (at least for me) I have a uti, it's not my vulva that hurts! I didn't want to bring up safeguarding but it is naturally a concern I've read about on here. It rolls off the tongue better than vagina somehow.

I've escaped the word with ds (4.5), he just knows and has seen we don't have willies. He knows the word penis too. I also escaped childbirth discussions so far as when he asked about his sister while pregnant, I'd had a planned cesarean for breech with him and was thinking the same for her, although did ultimately vbac...

Vulva could be a good one, even if not always accurate while she's little, for anatomical correctness. No ambiguity for health and childcare professionals.

Hi OP, we've gone with vulva for our little girl and penis for son who is 2. Clear and easy.

DaisyChain16 · 13/10/2023 20:18

Blessedbethefruitz · 13/10/2023 20:13

That's a lot of comments! Maybe I'll ask nursery what they use...

I'm not sure on vulva as when (at least for me) I have a uti, it's not my vulva that hurts! I didn't want to bring up safeguarding but it is naturally a concern I've read about on here. It rolls off the tongue better than vagina somehow.

I've escaped the word with ds (4.5), he just knows and has seen we don't have willies. He knows the word penis too. I also escaped childbirth discussions so far as when he asked about his sister while pregnant, I'd had a planned cesarean for breech with him and was thinking the same for her, although did ultimately vbac...

Vulva could be a good one, even if not always accurate while she's little, for anatomical correctness. No ambiguity for health and childcare professionals.

So teach her urethra too for uti purposes.

Nothingbuttheglory · 13/10/2023 20:18

We used Willy for my son, will be using Minnie for our daughter.

The baby names thread is that way ->

Antsinmypantsneedtodance · 13/10/2023 20:18

Please just teach the correct word. Vulva.

What happens if when she's a little older and says to an adult bob touched my cookie/mini/fairy. Sound's like a toy would easily be ignored.

My DD has used vulva since she could talk. She also uses the word penis.

They're words. Use them.

Chanhedforthis · 13/10/2023 20:19

Hi OP, I have a 2 year old girl and she calls it her vulva.

YouAreBeingUnbearable · 13/10/2023 20:20

Vinrouge4 · 13/10/2023 19:56

What is wrong with front bottom and back bottom. Worked with our kids. Vulva or vagina for a toddler? - just no.

@Vinrouge4, I’m not trying to single you out as I’m sure you are not the only one… but, you posted this, then followed up with “Can you explain the difference between vagina and vulva to me”.

That’s why you use the proper words. Because even as an adult you are not sure of your own anatomy. Vulva and vagina are not dirty words; they are literally just a collection of letters. I think this is very common with people of our generation. My Mum was so embarrassed about genitals and sex that it really confused me as a child and had me thinking they were something to be secretive/ashamed about. I think it’s great that people are starting to break that generational taboo.

SisterMichaelsHabit · 13/10/2023 20:20

Cowlover89 · 13/10/2023 19:48

I call it foof

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LOL we say "foof" or "foo foo" and DS has a "pee pee" (because it's where his pee pee comes out).

We'll bring different words in when they're old enough.

I always find it hilarious that so many people on MN claim they tell their children that it's penis/vulva and yet that Santa brings all the presents for the DC, even the ones at grandma's, aunty's and random friend's house, like did he get lost and just chuck presents everywhere for the same DC? 🤣

Vinrouge4 · 13/10/2023 20:21

DaisyChain16 · 13/10/2023 20:17

My DD1 has been able to say and point to her vulva since she was about 18 months old. She's now 2.5 and knows she has a vulva and a vagina like I do and her dad has a penis. I don't get the angst over using the anatomical names. She also knows about conception and pregnancy and how she and her sister were born.

Blimey! At 2 and a half she knows about conception and pregnancy. Out of interest does Father Christmas, the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny feature in her life.