It seems like ever family has their own cutesy names for various body parts and their associated functions.
In our house it was pee-pee and poo (although Aunt A always called them woo-woos). We were not ever allowed to use the word "fart" -- oh no, that was a "bus" (I don't know... don't ask). Breasts weren't called boobs in our house, they were called "bumps" and I'm not sure we ever had a name for Dad's private part..... but another family we know called it a "pickle"
It kind of makes me wonder what we are going to teach the 'lil dubya & dubyette and what they'll call things. The 'lil man already knows that there are pee pees and poop in his diaper -- but what about the rest? He giggles uncontrollably when he "toots" -- not sure if it's the feeling back there or our reaction that causes him to crack up, but... he laughs and laughs.
The reason this all comes up is that I was on the phone with my girlfriend yesterday -- she's an RN and she recently completed a program to get her nurse practitioner's licence specializing in women's health.
In our house it was pee-pee and poo (although Aunt A always called them woo-woos). We were not ever allowed to use the word "fart" -- oh no, that was a "bus" (I don't know... don't ask). Breasts weren't called boobs in our house, they were called "bumps" and I'm not sure we ever had a name for Dad's private part..... but another family we know called it a "pickle"
It kind of makes me wonder what we are going to teach the 'lil dubya & dubyette and what they'll call things. The 'lil man already knows that there are pee pees and poop in his diaper -- but what about the rest? He giggles uncontrollably when he "toots" -- not sure if it's the feeling back there or our reaction that causes him to crack up, but... he laughs and laughs.
The reason this all comes up is that I was on the phone with my girlfriend yesterday -- she's an RN and she recently completed a program to get her nurse practitioner's licence specializing in women's health.
I always found it funny that she uses the proper terminology when discussing the mommy-matters even amongst her non-medical friends. She'd say things like "the area around her anus was excoriated" while I'd just say something like "she has a diaper rash" or "her butt is red and irritated".
Yesterday she was telling me about her 3 year-old daughter -- although she's potty trained, she sometimes has a tough time doing a thorough wiping job. As she's explaining to me what happened, it struck me as so odd that this 3-year old is using terms like "bowel movement", "vagina" and "labia"
Anyone want to share their family's terminology?
6 comments:
After 16 years of Catholic school? Everything's her "privates".
And the correct terminology is "poop" "pee" and "stinky" (as in "alright, who's been stinky"?)
(I can't believe I'm doing this from work.)
You should hear a three year old boy try to say testicles, its great.
Vagina, penis, testicles for some reason we just called them what they are called. Seems to work.
"bus"? I always thought it was "bust" as in he "busted". Hmm... I wonder what else I remember wrong.
we use the general term privates because we are raising an exhibitionist and we need to remind her what parts are private (ie: just for her, not for the world to see). She's familiar with all the anatomical names but doesn't really use them. She's all about boobs lately- when she'll get them, will they look like mine, etc.
As for functions, it's pee, poop, and farts. And oooh boy- she loves the farts.
We try to use the clinical terms as much as possible. Although I admit that I sometimes call the genitals "bird" because that's what my parents called them when I was growing up.
One thing that really bothers me is when people use the term vagina to refer to the female genitals. The vagina is the internal part that isn't visible. The vulva is the part that you see on the outside. I don't know why that bugs me but it does. LOL
Now if I could just get my 2 year old to stop violently yanking on his penis. Anyone got any suggestions on that? When he was in the tub the other night I told him that touching his penis was something he should only do in private. So he hid behind the shower curtain and continued.
My family was kind of like yours. We never called our privates by their real names. I guess I'm kind of following that example with my kids just because it STILL feels weird to call a part a part. We actually started calling my son's penis just that, but he started calling it his "wee wee," so we're sticking with that. Others - butt is a "booty", boobs are "nursing thingies" (my son's invention), and a fart is just "passing gas" or a "poot." We use the real terms for these various body parts enough that he knows the real name (except for breasts), but it's just much more comfortable to use the fun names!
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