Errrr … a little tricky to word … what’s a little girl’s equivalent to a 'willy'?

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

I don’t remember mum teaching us names of our private parts, (maybe “little man”, regarding my brother) Also I don’t remember referring to my private parts at junior school, or hearing other talking about theirs.
First word at secondary school, I heard was that horrible word TWA.. I didn’t have a clue what they were laughing about.
I think teach your kids the proper names for their privates. At least when other school kids are coming up with daft names, they will at least know what they are referring to.

Chestnut

Thank you too!

I hope this makes people think twice before pressing those keys!

Thank you.

I’m glad that at least this one post has been allowed to stand as a warning.

Not that anyone is paying any attention to it.

I think people just don’t realise or can’t accept how abusers behave.

Lathyrus3

I see that Gransnet have removed mine and Sago’s posts as troll hunting.

Then in a general sense I will say do not post stories of your grandchildren referring to the subject of this post.

The vocabulary will have alerted the feeds of those who are interested in such details for their titillation even if the OP is genuine.

I think Gransnet has made a very poor decision here and I will be reporting myself as the only way I can think of to ask them to consider their safeguards.

👍👍👍

I agree completely and think this thread should never have been allowed to run on an open forum.

I cannot recall any conversation with my grandchildren that has involved the naming of parts, but surely a GP who feels the need may arise should check what terms the parents employ, and follow suit?

Urm....willyette?!

Is a what not🤣

Granmarderby10

It is important that a child you have responsibility for at any one time and for however long a period should be able to report if someone touched them in their private parts or in any way inappropriately.

So there is a very valid reason for both the carer/parent,grandparent and child in question to be “on the same page” and I think that it is utterly naive of those adults who have questioned the necessity of a mutually agreed term/name that will be immediately understood by both the responsible adult and the child.
This also ensures all concerned don’t waste their energy on their own embarrassment but instead deal with the issue.

I absolutely second this Granmaderby. I used to be involved, alongside the Police, in investigative interviewing (video interviews) of children who had disclosed sexual abuse. The initial part of the interview always involved an element of establishing the names children used to refer to different parts of their body. These were many and varied and often quite imaginative, but it was essential to make sure that what they were telling us was clearly understood by all as it might later be used as evidence in court.

Children need to be able to tell those looking after them clearly if someone has hurt them, and without any embarrassment on either side. I find it interesting that little boys are quite open in talking about their penises, willies or whatever they like to call them - sometimes too open - whilst little girls are usually more reticent, and certainly not encouraged to do so. Maybe it says something about women’s attitudes to our own bodies and maybe we owe it to little girls to be more open minded ourselves.

NotSpaghetti

I realised it was a "jokey" response but it was referring back to people using/teaching "vagina" when really they meant "vulva".
That's all.

Sorry if you thought I was taking it as a serious matter in this instance.
That wasn't my intention. Apologies.

Apologies, too, NotSpaghetti.
It seems that I misinterpreted what you meant.

It is advisable to teach girls vulva and vagina. Removes any shame over body parts and any ambiguity in case of abuse. I don’t know anyone who uses euphemisms any more.

I realised it was a "jokey" response but it was referring back to people using/teaching "vagina" when really they meant "vulva".
That's all.

Sorry if you thought I was taking it as a serious matter in this instance.
That wasn't my intention. Apologies.

My Mum named it "tweenies" and urinating "tinkling". Poo was called "uckabins" because that is how I had described it.

I suppose it is much more sensible to name parts of the body in the correct way.

Bazza

When my girls were little it was always called a Minnie, but my friend called it her Mrs willowby which always made me smile but I’m not sure why.

Does Mrs Willowby approve or doesn't she know or was your actual friend Mrs Willowby ?🤣🤣🤣

Makes you think.........

NotSpaghetti

Belardo - but surely you would be very concerned if she had actually hurt her "vagina"...
That would be odd - as well as serious.

As I already said in my post, NotSpaghetti,
the girl said it in a sort of joking way and both she and her sister laughed at it. There was no hint of her really hurting herself, she didn't run to her granny to complain and nothing more was said about it that day. She had just been bouncing a little too energetically on the seesaw, that's all.

If there was any concern that she had actually hurt herself then of course I would have been very concerned, as would her granny.

I told the story merely to illustrate the fact that this child knew a more anatomically correct word than the ones used by previous generations.

My mum was very open and healthy about bodies, ie nothing to ever be ashamed of, but I can't recall any 'naming' ever going on.
It actually might be my dad's influence - he was incredibly Victorian of all matters sexual and even naked and would not have approved.
I can remember being blasted with short lived anger when he hadn't locked the toilet door - all I saw was the back of his bum!

I shall rename mine Fu Fu. Love it.

When my girls were little it was always called a Minnie, but my friend called it her Mrs willowby which always made me smile but I’m not sure why.

As a child, I never spoke to my mother about that area of my body because at a very young age I had picked up from her attitude that it shouldnt be mentioned. However, that meant that I didnt tell her when I had genuine problems in that region.
Too much prudishness can be harmful!

M0nica

Surely we are talking defaecation not sexual parts. In which case, you talk about the bladder.

I too, am of the call spade a spade brigade, bladder, vagina, anus, generically called 'bottom'

Why on earth would you refer to the bladder if taking about defaecation?

yogitree

Leelaylo

I always encouraged my daughter to call it her vagina but for some unknown reason she always referred to it as her Fu Fu

Leelaylo here in my area FuFu is used too. Also Flower and FanFan! When they pass into school, vagina is the preferred description.

But surely ‘vagina’ is incorrect, even though many adults use it to refer to the vulva?
I have no daughters, so never had to tell them what it was called, and I have no idea what my granddaughters called it. My sons had penises, but when they were a bit older they might giggle when calling it their willy!
Working in early years, there were a lot of willies, and I think I remember a ‘girlie’ and a ‘toot’!
As a child, I don’t think I ever spoke about that area to my mother, but think I would just have used ‘bottom’.

Queen Victoria may well have had those parts but would have no term of reference for them. Neither have I!

I agree there was no word for this part of me, when I was a child. I was born in 1951, and the only expression that comes to my mind is "Tween legs" my way of repeating Mummy's expression "between your legs"

Both my parents would have disapproved of all and every one of the expressions suggested on this site. I was firmly told there was no need to talk about the body parts that were covered by clothing. And I have a firm impression that all the girls I played with, my girl cousin, and later my class-mates had been brought up in the same way.

I cannot for the life of me remember what my boy cousins called their penis - certainly not willy, as nearly every third boy in Scotland at that time seemed to be Willie. As both their mother and our mutual grandmother were French teachers they may have referred to "their thing".

Just call it "your wee-wee" and have done with it. After all we all automatically ask a small child who is holding him- or herself between their legs if they need to do a wee-wee, don't we?

How many children did Queen Victoria have? I think she had such parts.

I don't have these parts that you are referring to. They simply don't exist. I'm with Queen Victoria on this matter.