vagina vs. vulva vs. penis
i have been thinking about it. DD has seens DH's penis, and she has seen my vulva. vagina is on the inside, so personally i would not pry myself open to show it to her, in the same way if she wanted to see inside of my anus, or how my stomach looks inside
i am not very coherent
but i think the equivalent of a penis, i mean in terms of kids interested in body parts, is vulva. i would not sit down and get undressed to show it to her (not to make a commotion out of it) but if i were in the shower or on a toilet, i would have no problems, in a casual way.
i have been thinking about a double standard -- the penis is clearly visible
, but vulva is not so.
another question that has been bothering me. am i really justified to censor certain things because others might see them as inappropriate. this is such a scary thought -- that i might harm my children if someone overhears them talking about vulvas and penises, and they might be taken away. but on the other hand, kids talk about all kind of things. DD is 4, and talks about nursing to strangers.
if she were a boy, people might be more concerned. when ds is older, this will also be an issue, if he nurses that long.
now a funny
-- but if my daughter spoke better english (we speak russian at home) i would have been absolutely terrified. she wants DH to pretend he is a caterpillar while he wipes her bum. so he dances as a caterpillar would dance
. but the other day, on the bus, all of a sudden she says, loudly too: 'daddy's caterpillar is ma favorite, when he wipes my vulva'.
her english is improving every day, we better make dady into a butterfly or something!