Do you use the correct language to describe...

genitals!

I have been on Sex and relationship ed training today and one of the discussions centred around the language we use for our genitals, some said they had never heard the correct terms used by their parents and did not use them with their own children. Some were quite against young children using the words penis and vagina.

What do you call yours (now  or as a child, to your own children etc)

Do you think children should use the correct language?

I use the terms 'willy' and 'fanny'. I can't remember what I called them when I was little. A friend of mine was bought up to call her vagina her 'purse'. How odd

Well vagina wouldn't be strictly correct either as that is a specific part. I would find it strange to hear a little one referring to vagina or vulva though.  Not really sure why?  It just, well, doesn't sound right.

Likewise little boys referring to their penis.  Winky, willie etc fine but it just wouldn't sound right to me.

My 5 year old nephew knows the correct term is penis, but he still calls it his 'boaby' which is fine by his parents.

When I was a child my lady bits were known as 'cookie'  - I used to be terrified of the Cookie Monster on sesame street

With Jamie (18 months) I use 'willy' and 'front bottom' (clearly the latter is if referring to me, I'm not suggesting he has both!).

I have no objection to using the 'correct' biological terms, for me it's simply what ends up being front of mind (and not too offensive should he happen to repeat it in public!). No idea what my parents called them when I was younger, I'm fairly sure some sort of surreal euphemism was employed which avoided them actually having to mention anything at all ...

Well, vagina would probably be anatomically incorrect for whatever a little girl was refering to. So, that's a clear no-go for me. Vulva from the lips of a 3 year old just feels, well, completely wrong. I haven't heard the word used in polite society, probably ever, so I wouldn't enforce it on an unsuspecting toddler who would have no idea of the connotations behind what she was saying.

I go with front-bottom rather than a made up word because if she ever needs to talk about her genitals when I am not around, her adult carer would be able to gleant an idea about what part of her body she might be referring to.

As Maxi says, it's tricky with girls because it's both vagina and vulva. I don't have a problem with children knowing and using the proper names, but equally I really don't see the problem with them using other names either.

At some point, it's pretty important they learn the proper names, but I think it's most important that it's something that they feel they can talk about, no matter what the name is.

It'll be willy for penis in this house and it's currently the slightly twee "lady bits" because it's ever so hard to find something that sounds right for girls.

I'd make a rubbish doctor because I just can't say the word vulva without smirking

I'm slightly phobic about the hard 'p' (fnar) hence I hate the word 'penis'. I also shudder at the name 'Peter' for the same reason, so there you go

To answer the question, I can't remember what we called them as children. Probably not the correct anatomical names, but I can't remember what.

hazel:

I'd make a rubbish doctor because I just can't say the word vulva without smirking

It's a rubbish word, isn't it. Hardly likely to feature high on a list of the nation's favourite words.

My Mum used to call it "bits and corners". God knows where that name came from.

When I was little it was tiddler for penis (my dad must have loved that) and front bum.

It'll probably be front bum and pee pee when we have kids.

The weirdest ones I've heard for vaginas were froofroo (a little girl told me she came out of mummys froo froo) and falula.

To be honest I think the only time we as parents would mention genitals in front of our daughter would be in regards to some toilet function. So whether it was a boy or a girl we would probably go with 'wee wee'. Being bought up in our culture, Islam, no one ever used the correct terminology and I'm fairly sure my mum just refered to it as the bottom area in general and never more specific than that.

Having said that my in laws refer to the genitals as 'shamey' with their kids which I find strange. Basically they mean it's the area to be ashamed of. If one of the kids was to pull down their pants my sil would say 'shame on you, everyone can see your shamey, you better cover it up quick'.

I cannot for the life of me think of what my bits were called when i was little. My brother had a winky though

After a lot of thinking, I have embraced vagina It's not anatomically correct but I struggle with vulva- it just seems strange for such a young child.  Not keen on "front bottom" as, although I always just assumed it meant the bit at the front of one's bottom (IYSWIM) I understand that people sometimes see it as referring to the fact a vulva looks a bit like a bottom- I'm not really keen on connecting the two things that much as I fear over-connection, with connotations that one's vagina is somehow a bit unpleasant (as little children come to think of bottoms/poo).  I didn't want anything twee or family specific.  So vagina is the least worst option- clear, no unpleasant overtones and despite not being 100% accurate, it's accurate enough.

For boys- willy.  If only there were a word like willy for vagina.  But I may at some point soon start talking about penises as well.   And love truncheons and pork swords obnov. 

I am forever grateful I have boys as their genitals are so much easier to name!  For the boys, I say willy or 'bits'.  For my neices, I just say 'bits'.