Names for private parts

Squiggler

I really hate the euphemism "front bum" - to me it sounds dirty and unpleasant in an unhygenic way, especially when contrastingly paired with willy.

A childhood friend of mine used to call it her bun. I've been wracking my brains but I don't ever remember having a name for the area. My brothers had "piddlers" and my sister and I didn't - I don't ever remember having a problem with this as it was my opinion that it was much nicer not having a piddler, neater and less messy.

One name I thought was kinda nice for it that a friend used with her daughter was "Vee" (V for Vulva and because of the general shape of the area)

lounakin

Ms2011 wrote: »

Personally I think children are thrust into the adult world far too early these days. Children are children for such a short time so for me my son will have a willy & if he asks girls have a no willy but a front bum instead. He'll learn the 'correct' terms for these ( and other parts of the body ) as he gets older & approaches puberty & I will not shy away from any questions he might ask. For now though it's willy, front bum & boobies just like a dog is a doggie, a car is a mow mow & his soother is a doodie ;-)

I don't think words have anything to do with the adult world, but I'm not disagreeing with you on the fact that children and thrust into adulthood too early. I really don't see the point of calling a dog a doggie etc. Children are not aware that they are using baby words, it's not for their benefit since they have nothing to compare. Those euphemisms are for our benefit only and therefore, useless. Doggie on the other hand is more for the cute factor.

dublinlady

I think that more playful childlike workds should be used with children.... Doggie for example - is as ya said Lounakin - cuter - its a softer word and instils a more friendly vibe and attitude in my opinion.
I would use words like the bow wow, and choo choo train as they are decriptive words which encourage creativity and alliteration which I can only see as a positive thing for language development. Obviously i hate these words being used when a child is older as then they are able to understand better and dont need the aid of descriptive words to understand the meaning of items.
I agree that a child does not know what is a childs word and whats the real adult word - but i do feel the world is harsh and vulgar enough and if making words a little bit 'cuter'and child friendly can encourage interaction and interest then it cant be a bad thing.
I certainly will not be teaching my children the words penis and vagina as the first terms they use to describle their genitalia - as i think there are gentler, less intimidating words available. when they are 4/5 they can learn anatomy, until then they can remain babies.

lounakin

dublinlady wrote: »

I certainly will not be teaching my children the words penis and vagina as the first terms they use to describle their genitalia - as i think there are gentler, less intimidating words available. when they are 4/5 they can learn anatomy, until then they can remain babies.

How is the word 'penis' intimidating to a child? How does saying 'penis' make a small child grow up too soon? It is intimidating to the parent and the parent doesn't want to hear it because of a deep-rooted shame of naming private parts. That's got nothing to do with the child. We are not helping them in any way, they do not understand the concept of euphemisms.

dublinlady

lounakin wrote: »

How is the word 'penis' intimidating to a child? How does saying 'penis' make a small child grow up too soon? It is intimidating to the parent and the parent doesn't want to hear it because of a deep-rooted shame of naming private parts. That's got nothing to do with the child. We are not helping them in any way, they do not understand the concept of euphemisms.

Ive no deep-rooted shame with anything to do with private parts - hence two babies in 14 months
I understand the point your making - i just dont agree - as i said - the word penis is not descriptive or pleasant aurally or any way nice - id rather encourage a baby to use baby appropriate fun words - im not hindering her speech - mostly its just the use of alliteration with things like bow wow etc. for me its similar to making them live their life in grey black and white when you could introduce them to colour! I like to use words which encourage creativity and i realy feel the vagina is not one of them....

Parenting is all about each to their own - so i dont want to suggest i think your wrong - i dont - its just not right for me

Hannibal Smith

lounakin wrote: »

How is the word 'penis' intimidating to a child? How does saying 'penis' make a small child grow up too soon? It is intimidating to the parent and the parent doesn't want to hear it because of a deep-rooted shame of naming private parts. That's got nothing to do with the child. We are not helping them in any way, they do not understand the concept of euphemisms.

To be fair...you're assuming a lot...deep rooted shame...seriously? you're in the parenting forum where most women are proud of their private parts and the work they've done...just because they like to keep them private doesn't lend itself to shame

lounakin

dublinlady wrote: »

Ive no deep-rooted shame with anything to do with private parts - hence two babies in 14 months
I understand the point your making - i just dont agree - as i said - the word penis is not descriptive or pleasant aurally or any way nice - id rather encourage a baby to use baby appropriate fun words - im not hindering her speech - mostly its just the use of alliteration with things like bow wow etc. for me its similar to making them live their life in grey black and white when you could introduce them to colour! I like to use words which encourage creativity and i realy feel the vagina is not one of them....

Parenting is all about each to their own - so i dont want to suggest i think your wrong - i dont - its just not right for me

Of course, and I don't think you're wrong either. I just think in the absolute, the sound of the word 'penis' or 'vagina' only carries unpleasantness because of our projection on it, the child doesn't care, the child might think it sounds funny and appropriate. I also feel every word encourages creativity, not only alliterations. There are people who believe there is no need to use baby words (I'm not vouching for either side as I have little experience), one of my friends did that and her daughter is one of the most creative and literate child I know. That said, with my daughter I find it almost impossible not to use alliterations when I speak to her, it seems so natural...
So you see, I'm just playing devil's advocate for the sake of debating.
There is one word I love for both male and female genitalia, (it's french, I speak french to my baby) but it actually sounds too much like my child's name! I don't think I want to use them! lol

angelfire9

Aisling is almost 2 and she has a "front bum" and a "back bum" simply because they are easier for little people to say
She calls our cats Kitties
She calls dogs Doggies
She calls pigs Piggies
She calls her toes piggies too
Her stomach is her tummy
Her vocabulary is really good for her age
Loads of time for her to learn proper names she's still my baby

pickarooney

They're a penis and a vagina in the same way a skull is a cranium and a knee is a patella. There's nothing at all wrong or typically Irish about using colloquial names for body parts.

I never got around to teaching my daughter an English word for her 'zézette'; I simply didn't know what the common, acceptable terms were for toddlers and thought it would sounds weird her using words from a higher register. I don't think it really matters at this stage but I did often ask myself the question.

Gee_G

Ms2011 wrote: »

Personally I think children are thrust into the adult world far too early these days. Children are children for such a short time so for me my son will have a willy & if he asks girls have a no willy but a front bum instead. He'll learn the 'correct' terms for these ( and other parts of the body ) as he gets older & approaches puberty & I will not shy away from any questions he might ask. For now though it's willy, front bum & boobies just like a dog is a doggie, a car is a mow mow & his soother is a doodie ;-)

Totally agree with your post!
I would much rather hear a small child refer to their private parts as willy and front bum(aNd that is no underlying insecurity about my body parts)And I will be teaching my son such names!

lounakin

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

To be fair...you're assuming a lot...deep rooted shame...seriously? you're in the parenting forum where most women are proud of their private parts and the work they've done...just because they like to keep them private doesn't lend itself to shame

I wasn't telling her she has deep-rooted shame, I was more referring to society in general. I think the use of euphemisms for private parts started as a way to avoid adults being confronted to their own shame. I think it's not the same as using baby vocab. We all know the damaged caused by religion and it's not hard to imagine that we are still suffering the effects. We teach our baby words like 'doggie' but we are not shocked to hear a toddler say 'dog'. A lot of people would be shocked to hear a child say 'penis' or 'vagina' (I wouldn't and not saying people on this thread would either), this is proof that the euphemism is originally not implemented as a way to 'cutify' but as a way to soften the blow on the parent. If we hadn't gone (by we I'm not actually including myself as I don't come from a country where religion is so omnipresent) through years of stigma about private parts, nobody would blush at the mention of penis and vagina and so it wouldn't be such a problem for a parent to pick a name.
I realise it's a blunt statement about religion, I'm just being general here. I have heard that children didn't get sexual education here until quite recently, it is not something people feel so free to discuss.

Neyite

Squiggler wrote: »

I really hate the euphemism "front bum" - to me it sounds dirty and unpleasant in an unhygenic way, especially when contrastingly paired with willy.

I don't like the term front-bum either, and couldn't pin-point why until I read your post. That's exactly why I don't like it. I think when we were little we called a vagina a genie. I think I was about 10 when I realised willy was a euphemism and had to ask my mother what the correct word was.

I think willy and vee is fine when they are very small.

Charlie Quinn

Personally I think that any names young children are comfortable with for anything would suffice. When they reach about aged 6 or 7 though, (the age of reason) then they should be introduced to proper titles and names for things, including their body parts..

Hannibal Smith

lounakin wrote: »

I wasn't telling her she has deep-rooted shame, I was more referring to society in general. I think the use of euphemisms for private parts started as a way to avoid adults being confronted to their own shame. I think it's not the same as using baby vocab. We all know the damaged caused by religion and it's not hard to imagine that we are still suffering the effects. We teach our baby words like 'doggie' but we are not shocked to hear a toddler say 'dog'. A lot of people would be shocked to hear a child say 'penis' or 'vagina' (I wouldn't and not saying people on this thread would either), this is proof that the euphemism is originally not implemented as a way to 'cutify' but as a way to soften the blow on the parent. If we hadn't gone (by we I'm not actually including myself as I don't come from a country where religion is so omnipresent) through years of stigma about private parts, nobody would blush at the mention of penis and vagina and so it wouldn't be such a problem for a parent to pick a name.
I realise it's a blunt statement about religion, I'm just being general here. I have heard that children didn't get sexual education here until quite recently, it is not something people feel so free to discuss.

I know...I get you now...our last 2 posts crossed

lounakin

I distinctly remember having a conversation in kindergarten with my friends, asking them what they called their private parts. We all had different names for it, and we thought it was hilarious. My family called it the 'behind' and when both bum and front was mentioned in the one sentence it was ridiculous: 'make sure you wipe the behind behind and your front behind'. I remember being very confused.