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Euphemisms for um, ah, the you-know-what

Categories: Development

my flowerHow do we decide what to call the (ahem) private parts? And when is a good time to first use said descriptors? I've never been one for euphemisms (and there's evidently some psychological basis for this instinct), so I decided to call a "penis" a "penis" and started early with Everett. As soon as he asked what it was, I gave him a name. My husband's family calls them "weiners" and I've heard various cutesy nicknames, "peepee" and "peeper" and "dingdong" and "unit." For some reason, though, I have a problem with the "v" word. For the longest time I avoided the issue; when Everett asked, I just explained that mamas don't have penises. Finally yesterday his questions became too much, and I just had to break down and give it a word. I could have called it a "yoni" or a "flower" or "popo" or "vulvie." But I used the "right" word and when he repeated it back to me (like he does whenever I tell him a new word or name for something) he just looked so proud, I figured it couldn't be that bad. I can't remember my parents ever using euphemisms; my mom was a nurse so she was always one to use proper medical terminology. Do you use a nickname? When did you first have the "boys are different from girls" conversation?

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