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Call it what you want baby...

“Boobies?” The giggle of a six year old sounded. “Why do you call them boobies?”

“Ummmm I don’t really know why. I guess because I thought it sounded better than “Pom Poms,” I replied.

Pom Poms is the word the boy in the kindergarten class used to refer to breasts, or as they remain in Kindergarten – “nipples”.

“You can just keep calling them nipples,” we concluded.

“Maybe it should be areolas,” Maura added.

This was on Sunday.

On Monday, Maura had a halter monitor prescribed so she was sentenced to a 48 hour stint shower-free.

“Don’t worry, you can use wipes to wash you ‘hoohaa’,” I assured her. “And you can use soap under your arms.”

“Hoohaa? That brings me back to the boobies conversation from yesterday,” Maura came back at me.

“Yeah I guess it does, but what did you want me to say labia?” I questioned.

“Or vagina.” Maura chimed.

“Why don’t you just cover the whole area and say perineum?” Maura’s mom wisely rebutted.

So that got us talking about Oprah and the Vajayjay and the many other affectionate terms we give to the human anatomy.

A good friend of mine taught her young daughter to call privates “wanglers and squaddlers” for boys and girls respectively. It stuck. I always got a laugh when I heard her saying it. Though I admit if I threw either term out in random conversation no one would have any idea what I was referring to.

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So…what do you think?

Is it wrong to teach kids about the body with nicknames for their private parts?

Are words like “wangler,” “boy parts,” and “pee pee” more or less taboo than the technical “penis”?

Should we correct them as they assign less technical names to the parts of the body?

When does it start to matter?

Comments

mo said…
i am about being open and honest and direct with my nouns.

don't cushion me with your hoohaa, give me your vagina straight up ;)
Anonymous said…
I think "cutsey" names need to go, especially Oprah's Vajayjay! (But then I think OPRAH needs to go, so maybe that is a bad example!) I know that the nicknames create a problem if a child is assaulted and uses one of them in court. I think it is best to use the correct terms.
Unknown said…
We went with crotch, bum and breasts, accurate without being clinical.And generally accepted vernacular should my daughter be overheard by a principal.
Laurie said…
Henry has a penis and a bum. His moms have vaginas. He's not allowed to touch a girl's boobs (even though he tries), and he's pretty good at letting us know when he has a "rection." He's 3, and we've always used those words right from the start, mostly because I sound like a complete idiot when I use cutesy words. So there's the Campbells' $.02.

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