Anatomy - a strange but honest question.

Anna - posted on 10/04/2011

I totally agree in teaching our kids the correct names....although "private parts" seems like a good idea as another name in public to re-enforce the idea of that area being private to our kids. I was taught vagina when I was a kid...but felt rather stupid when my much younger cousin called hers a vulva and I didn't know what that was... so why do most people name it a vagina when the outside parts which we are seeing and naming is actually a vulva? I'm teaching my 2yr old to call it a vulva...will it be confusing for her later or maybe should I go into the whole "outside is a vulva, inside is a vagina" thing?

Laila - posted on 10/02/2011

Penis and Vagina are terms children should know from the very beginning!

Paulette - posted on 08/02/2009

my sons front parts are called his worm
my daughters her lucy
dont really know y it's just so we can talk about it and no one knows what were talking about.

Tamara - posted on 08/02/2009

I'm teaching my daughter the correct terminology. Boys have a penis and girls have a vulva. That's that. Pet names, etc. just aren't worth the hassle of unlearning in favor of the proper terms later on.

--- - posted on 08/02/2009

we use va jay jay or vage

Susan - posted on 08/02/2009

pee pee is what i call it LOL

Amy - posted on 08/02/2009

This is so funny, I tried calling my boys parts penis but the sitter got them calling it a WINGDINGER.. it still makes me laugh till this day!

Jennifer - posted on 08/02/2009

i just called it his man hood since he was little lol now he is 2 months shy of 9 and when i say it he rolls his eyes and laughs. he does know that it is his penis

Sandra - posted on 08/02/2009

My girls are much older than the majority of posts, I work as a nurse and I have always told both of them the correct names for all bodily parts, however they still continued to call their parts their flower now I am a grandmother my daughter refers to her little girls parts as her noonie... where that came from I have no idea! but I am sure when the time comes she will tell her the correct names for everthing, xx as long as children know the rights and the wrongs about their own parts that is the main thing, not allowing others to touch, and telling straight away if anyone tries anything ect. ect. I dont see the problem,

Elizabeth - posted on 08/02/2009

I agree with the majority that favor the real names for body parts. However most families do come up with their own pet names - private parts being commonest.

Isobel - posted on 08/01/2009

When my kids were little I always used the proper terms...penis/vagina...somehow though, over the years, peepee, willy. privates, hoohoo, johnson, down there, & unit have somehow entered the fray...I actually made a conscious effort not to let them and yet...here we are.

Mschelseamac - posted on 08/01/2009

My Son has his Wizzer. When he's old enough to know he shouldn't say things outloud (ie in the bankline "My penis tickles" or something) then I'll use the correct name.

Jane - posted on 08/01/2009

we call them peepees

Margarita - posted on 08/01/2009

My son is 4 and my duaghter is 1. He knows he has a penis. But i'm just not comfortable with a 4 year old boy saying the word vagina. So when he has "helped" with changing a diaper the subject came up. I answered with "Boys have a penis and girls don't have one." He's perfectly content with that information.

Lisa - posted on 08/01/2009

I also use correct terminology. There is nothing wrong with it but my husband does not like saying penis or vagina so he just calls them the girl parts or boy parts. Some people are not comfortable with the actual names. I think my mom still calls it "down there" LOL!!

Tara - posted on 08/01/2009

I always use the correct term for my daughter. She's only 16 months so she doesn't really understand, but I think once she's older she will know that she has a vulva, and the inner part is her vagina. If my 2nd one is a boy, he'll be told that he has a penis. I think it's really important to tell kids the proper body parts and to also let them know that they are private parts. I also agree with Crystal - knowing the proper body part names is essential in the event of any molestation issues.

Erin - posted on 08/01/2009

I don't think the correct anatomical names are "DIRTY"

LESLIE - posted on 08/01/2009

I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing, but i pick around with my 14 month old son and call it his "wi willy winki" or "pee-pee". Anything but "penis" or "dick" or anything else dirty or too grown upish!! I guess I have the same question as you. What do i say when he really understands??

Erin - posted on 08/01/2009

My son has always been taught he has a penis & for a good while LOVED saying PENIS everywhere! This bothered my husband, but I'm ok with it. Since taking a women studies class I learned that we should really be calling the vagina a vulva because that is the part we ACTUALLY see when we look at it, whereas the vagina is the inner part where the penis goes in, hence why we call it a vagina as that is the only part men care about and them being doctors above lowly women, blah blah blah. So it's boys have penises & girls have vulvas. When he hears someone call it a vagina I completely intend on telling him the above mentioned reason! I babysat a little girl when my son was younger (b4 women studies) & she asked what his member was called & i told her "penis" she then said that she has a penis too, I corrected her & told her she has a "vagina", she went home & said "papa has a penis & mommy has a vagina" her mother was sooo embarrassed that she reprimanded her for using those WORDs and then on referred to them as girl/boy parts. I found this to absolutely rediculous! She came back over and said "when i'm with mommy I call it 'girl parts' and when I'm over here its 'vagina'" I told her that was absolutely correct! There's NO REASON why we should be embarrassed using those terms! But not growing up that way I can understand the uncomfortableness w/vagina, which is why I really like "vulva" it doesn't sound near as bad :)

Joy - posted on 08/01/2009

Well my son is 21 months and we have been calling his penis a "pee pee" or "junk" lol Eventually we'll teach him the proper name for it but for now, I think we're ok using pet names. If he was a girl, I'd probably call it a "hoo hoo" or a "vajayjay" (yes because I laugh my butt off when Oprah says it lol).

Lee-Ann - posted on 08/01/2009

I too am going to go with the correct terms - Penis and Vagina - I watched this sex therapist on Oprah and agree with her, she said if we call them by other names like your foofoo or your v-jayjay then it kind of implies an embarrassment about talking about them and i want my daughter to feel comfortable talking about body parts and sex. My mum used to refer to breasts as 'boosies' i hated it!!! i wished she would just call them breasts, it made me feel uncomfortable because i knew she was obviously uncomfortable talking about them.

Rebecca - posted on 08/01/2009

I know that it is hard to decide and everyone has an interesting name to use. Something to think about when making a decision is that as your child gets older they will call their body parts by the name that you have labled them. Through my work I educated moms on different topics and one that no one want to deal with but is out there in our world is sexual abuse. Hopefully our children never have to deal with this issue but I know of a situation where the guy got a lesser charge because the child didn't know the proper names of their private body parts. I share this so that you can make an informed choice when it comes to labling body parts. In the training I went to we learned of a child that didn't get the help they requested because they were taught to call their private area their "pocketbook".

Sapphire - posted on 08/01/2009

We call it what it is: penis. My son knows that boys have a penis and girls have a vagina, and big girls have boobies. But, we also call them private parts, because like someone else mentioned, they are for private and no one else.

Carissa - posted on 08/01/2009

I agree 100% with most of the moms. Nothing is wrong with the correct names for them but giving it a cuter name is always fun haha. With my little girl (only 3 months) we just call it her privates. It's most comfortable with everyone in our household. Calling it her vagina just seems so mature!! lol But she will know what it's called when the time comes :]

Gayla - posted on 08/01/2009

i agree with becky, there are a lot of good posts. its basically up to you, what your thoughts are and maybe your beliefs. my boys just said private areas. even now at 23 and21 they dondt say penis. its just the way they are.

Becky - posted on 07/31/2009

My kids know the correct terms but when they were younger they called their penises their "peter". One day when I picked them up from Sunday School they were giggling. I asked them what they learned about today and they said "We talked about Peter...." and burst out laughing again. Guess they were so distracted by the name, they didn't catch the rest of the lesson!! I think they were around 3 at the time. There are a lot of very good points in the posts listed in here. I don't think I ever heard the word penis until I was in sex education in junior high school.

Jennifer - posted on 07/31/2009

My son is almost 4 and he says "Weiner" but also calls it his penis. As for his little sister (13 Months) it is her flower, he knows it is her private part where she pees and it's hers so we don't talk about it. As he gets older it will be told to be a vagina but for now to keep things private for his sister it is her "flower"

Jodi - posted on 07/31/2009

See, this is part of the problem. We all worry what our kids will say in public. My daughter has used the terms in public (in her outside voice, LOL) and it never bothers me. Now, if she came out with the "f" word in public, I would be embarrassed, but these are not dirty words, and my belief is they shouldn't be treated as such. Geez, my daughter is 4 1/2 and blew her nose at the shops the other day then held out the tissue and at the top of her voice said to me "here mummy, look at my boogies". I wasn't embarrassed. I laughed my head off and just told I really didn't need to look at her boogies and she should go and put the tissue in the rubbish bin. Maybe some people (who don't have kids) don't get it, but kids are kids!

Krista - posted on 07/31/2009

I call my son's penis his "winky" until he becomes a bit more aware of when and how to use the anatomical word. For my niece, we used to call it a "monkey".

User - posted on 07/31/2009

Call it what it is! Penis. People have spent too much time calling it something else as if it was bad. Ever think that if the subject wasn't hidden or called something else that maybe we wouldn't have the pornography issues that we have! Do you call your arm a "shakey" or a "picky up thing"? call the body parts what they are in fact are.

Michelle - posted on 07/31/2009

Penis and vagina. That's the proper name and I feel they should be used:0)

Crystal - posted on 07/31/2009

Right on Kate!

Crystal - posted on 07/31/2009

Right on Kate!

Kimberly - posted on 07/31/2009

Posted by Samantha Luxford (3:58 pm)

I know it sounds a little weird but my nephew calls his peanut.





That's too funny. I have taught my son that it is his penis but he calls it his peanut too. I think it's just issues with saying it correctly.

Charlie - posted on 07/31/2009

Its a penis , don't confuse him with cute names .

Samantha - posted on 07/31/2009

I know it sounds a little weird but my nephew calls his peanut.

Kate CP - posted on 07/31/2009

Crystal: excellent point. It's also harder to describe any illness in the area when they feel sick. Saying "My bo-bo hurts" could be a thousand different things. It's always best to go by the real names of body parts.

Crystal - posted on 07/31/2009

Also, the proper terms are beneficial in other ways. I once went to a kids first safety seminar, and they spoke about sexual crimes towards children. The deputy said their were several cases in which they couldn't prosecute because the child didn't know the terms. When parents use nicknames, it can be misconstrued as anything in a molestatiion case, therefore they can't make an arrest.

Kate CP - posted on 07/31/2009

...why not call it a penis? Since that's what it is I would assume that's the best name for it. My daughter knows that girls have vaginas and boys have penises. Those words aren't dirty, you know.

Dixie - posted on 07/31/2009

I have no problem calling my sons' parts penis. For some reason (maybe becuase I only have boys) I have a harder time with saying vagina, but I'm sure if I had to decide, I would call it that. There is nothing wrong with using the proper names.

Crystal - posted on 07/31/2009

I always referred to the genitalia as a penis and a vagina.

Sarah - posted on 07/31/2009

Penis

Abigail - posted on 07/31/2009

I tell my daughter what it's called. Boys have a penis and girls have a vagina. I don't see the point in making names up for it, I believe it's important for them to know what the proper name is.

Sara - posted on 07/31/2009

Penis and Vagina. I'm not about giving cute names to things because I don't want my daughter to interpret her genitals as dirty or embarassing or something that cant' be talked about in a direct way, I think it's best to be honest.

Michelle - posted on 07/31/2009

We called our daughter's parts a "tootie" when she was little and called little boys parts "peepee's" she knows the correct names but doesn't feel comfy using them.

Kara - posted on 07/31/2009

with my girl, for a long time we said "front bottom" and "back bottom." Around age 4, she learned vagina, but she still says bottom.

My son has always said penis or private parts.

Tammy - posted on 07/31/2009

We have a lot of fun with that around here. haha My teenagers and I usually call ours "hoo-ha" because it makes us laugh and makes it more comfortable for the girls to discuss issues that might be embarrassing otherwise. My younger two call theirs "private parts" but they know the correct terms. I like teaching the kids the term "private parts" first because it reminds the child that these parts are different than their other body parts. We don't touch them in public, we don't let other people touch them and we don't talk about them in public. Once they get a grasp on that concept, I tell them the real terms and hope that they don't blurt them out at full volume the next time we go to a restaurant. (They usually do, though)

Sharon - posted on 07/31/2009

hahaha - I thought I wouldn't have issues but I did. Around here a penis is called a "unit." Despite my discomfort I started out saying "penis" but my catholic husband kind of freaked out and went with "unit".



I drew the line at my daughter and say "vagina" and sometimes "your girl parts".

Amy - posted on 07/31/2009

we went with the cutesy names...it was hard for me not to, he was a baby and I just couldn't help it, he has since learned what they are and chooses to still call his a winky, and tells everyone else, they are his privates. But if you ask him what a penis is, he will tell you it's his winky

Heather - posted on 07/31/2009

I've taught my son the correct anatomical names for everything on his body when he asks. I answer his questions with the same matter of fact attitude I do when telling him what his nose is and what it does. (I figured out exactly what I'd say about all those awkward questions ahead of time so he wouldn't see a topic make me uncomfortable and then harp on it because I reacted funny)
good luck but whatever you tell him never let them see you sweat lol