I’d like to talk about vaginas.
Right, now that I’ve got your attention, let me explain.
Frog doesn’t have a vagina. Well, I suppose she does, but we don’t call it that. She’s a girl and everything, without a willy (as her friend, Arthur, likes to point out over and over again) but, until recently her “girl’s parts” didn’t have a name.
We dabbled with “flower” but it didn’t fit. “Mini” enjoyed a short stay in our house too, but was eventually sent packing. For a while it was just, “that bit” or “you know…” until a better way of referring to it came along.
It didn’t really matter before. Not when Frog wasn’t speaking or busy taking off her nappy and examining her entire body in meticulous fashion, often in search of a good new colouring canvas for her crayons.
But, the other day, the childminder asked – in passing – what we call her “bits”. Frog had been desperately pointing to herself “down there” apparently trying to articulate what lurked inside her nappy.
It’s the word she has learned from me. The word I finally found myself using. The word I learned from my mother, which she learned from her mother, ad infinitim etc etc.
The word?
Tuppence. Or “tuppy” for short.
This is what my sister and I had, when we were little girls. So it seems only fitting for my own daughter to have one too.
To my ears, it sounds dainty, cute and a little bit funny. Exactly fitting for a toddler.
So, if my daughter happens to tug at your sleeve, pointing at her trousers while shouting “tuppy”, don’t be alarmed. She just wants to tell you of her new discovery.
Now, own up, what’s a tuppy called in your house?
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We’re sticking with “bottom” so far. I’d love to be all cool with “vagina”, but I just don’t think it’s a very nice sounding word. And almost impossible for a two year old.
Totally agree. It sounds all clinical and scary to me!
We used to call it a moneybox…after we found a penny in Hanna’s nappy. We said that she must’ve been trying to put it in her moneybox….and the name stuck. It’s easier with Jack…it’s just a willy!
Tuppy is cute!
x
Moneybox is officially my new favourite word for it! x
When we were little we had a moneybox too, for exactly the same reason!!!!
Moneybox is my new favourite name.
What a great post! We have a few names for down there, most of which I couldn’t possibly divulge, but the main one is simply “bits”.
CJ x
“Bits” is pretty no-nonsense. It has a certain ring to it I suppose. I remember my friend at school when we were little referring to hers as her “girly bits”. Wonder if she still uses that term now?!
Yep, another vote for ‘bits’ from me – that’s what my mum called those bits and it’s what I call them to my small people now.
We just have ‘Mr. Winky’! And yes… that’s cos I have two boys xx
Ha, “Mr Winky” is ALMOST as good as “Wilberforce”!
When I was a little girl we called it a tuppence to, but with our little girl we have started using the phrase “Minky”
Ah, “Minky” is pretty cute.
Love this post, it’s something we have agonised over with both our son (we went for boy bits, he changed it to “boy boink” and it stuck!) and our daughter. I think we are going with ‘girl bits’ but I’ve also heard fairy and fifi as options from friends! I don’t remember what we called ours when we were kids
Ha, I think it’s harder to name the girl bits. There are just too many options!
lol this is mad! Does frog really take her nappy off- jeez the thought of it. Erin is obviously behind in this area too (god love her) she shows no interest and wouldnt even think too! With the 12yr old it was just always ‘your bits!’. You wouldn’t believe tho just how many posts I have in my head that I can’t write because the 12yr old would divorce me if it ever appeared on my blog considering her friends read it! But just wait till puberty and the questions that come then. Tonight we had a show and tell on how to shave your underarms! She uses nair on her eyebrows too!
Ha, the things we have to look forward to. And yes, Frog really does take her nappy off. Worryingly, she loves having no pants on. Especially when outside. She often grabs my hand and makes me walk her to the end of the garden so she can wave to the neighbours and point at her “bottom” and “tuppy”. I have bred an exhibitionist naturist. *sigh*
Both of mine (boy, six; girl, 14 months) have ‘bits’ with ‘girl/boy’ tacked on as and where necessary! I can’t bear cutesy names for ‘bits;’ even ‘willy’ gives me the willies, so to speak!
My daughter and I both have vulvas, as that’s the correct name for the external female genitals.
My reasoning was that if I taught her the correct name from the start then it would set a good precedent when we discuss other aspects of our bodies, genitals, sex as she grows up. She also uses the slang “nini” which I think is the word her childminder taught her. Which is cool too as we have lots of slang names for other body parts. Why should our genitals be any different? Teach the correct name and accept slang names too.
Good advice. Although I think the slang names are more fun!
We’ve not had the need yet, but I guess girly bits or mini…..
Both are safe bets I think and very popular ones!
Haha! Tuppy is so cute. I’m partial to “vulva” as it is the most accurate word. Laurence would rather something a bit less clinical. We didn’t call it anything growing up which kind of went along with not talking about sex at all, which I personally don’t think was healthy. I like the sound of the word “vagina” but I don’t like the sexist origins that go with it (it’s not a sword sheath, it exists in its own right not FOR something else to go in it) and it’s only describing one part of the genitalia and not necessarily the most important part. I may still end up calling it “vagina” though. I like talking about mine.
I’m on a mission to bring Tuppy to Bristol. You with me?
Oh god, I have no idea! I don’t like any of them! x
Ha – will you just point at it then?! x
I guess I’m shockingly honest with my kids.I never did woof woof, pussy cat for animals as they have to relearn them as they get older, so I avoided it.It’s the same as with body parts.Boys have a penis and girls have a vulva,But because their friends have different names for body parts, it’s willy for penis and the girls have trouble saying vulva so it’s falalala.Falala causes much amusement and they like to sing and giggle at the wrong moment.
It was willy and fanny when I was younger.I can’t say fanny in front of the kids without laughing but I have no trouble with vulva.
Giggling at myself writing fanny.
I’m giggling reading it Aly!
loving falalaa & falala
It’s been girls bottom, front bottom, all sorts of stuff, but I’m on “foo” at the moment, largely because I can’t be faffed to think of anything else and, it’s what people seem to use on mumsnet. laziness has it’s advantages…
this has come up in our house now that Noah’s arrived. They have a bath together so quite often we get reminded by Isla that “Noah is a boy and he has a willy” and she then always goes on to say that she doesn’t have a willy she just has a bottom!
My girl has ‘particles’!! They were bits and ‘girl parts’ and then she just said particles – I think it’s fab and that’s what we use.
I LOVE “particles”. The words made up by kids are the best. Especially as they’re naming their OWN parts. The final decision should be up to them really, shouldn’t it?!
Thanks – She knows about her vagina ‘cos I cannot bear it when I hear about babies coming out of bottoms!! But I’m very happy with particles – especially the ‘tickles’ part!
It was always Zanussi in our house. I’m not entirely sure why but it had something to do with the delivery of a new Zanussi washing machine…
OK – there’s a story there I need to hear more about.
A friend put us on to the handy term ‘special bits’. We like it because it’s not gendered (granted, we may need more specific vocabulary later!), because it sounds positive, & because it provides an easy way in to discussions about consent & choosing who you share your special bits with, etc.
There are some great names here. I particularly like money box and particles. Tuppy is cute too. In our house we call it Brötchen, which is German for little bread roll, which it kind of looks like. I got this from my sister who lives in Germany and it is the word my nieces have always used. I am not sure that my sister and I had a name for our particles when we were little… I will have to ask her…
I love the story behind your word. Makes it ever so fitting as a name. And so sweet!
Has Arthur told you that ‘willy’ is actually Wilberforce?