This is a plea to all mothers out there- please use the correct terminology for your child’s private parts.  Don’t dress it up by calling it a “hoo hoo” or a “wee wee”.  Oprah’s “va-jay-jay” is closer, but really- why can’t we just call it what it is… a cranny.

Yes, when I was a child, for no reason anyone in my family has been able to explain to me, my vagina was referred to as a “cranny”.   As in- “make sure you wash your cranny while you’re in the tub”! 

Why, you may ask… I HAVE NO CLUE!  But in kindergarten, when Mrs. Turley was reading a story about a mouse who hid in every nook and cranny- Little MaryLynn was inconsolable and had to leave the room, distraught, so that someone could explain that, apparently, that word had a dual meaning.  (Was a penis a “nook”, then?!) 

SO confusing for a 5 year old.  Scarred for life and untrusting of my parents ever since, I’ve vowed to use the correct vernacular with my own offspring and hope you’ve learned a little something from this story and follow my lead.

That being said, if there happens to be a mispronunciation, as in my friend Andrea’s case (whose family now affectionately mimics her initial understanding of the word as her “Fine China”) – just go with it.