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Expert Q&A
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| By Elizabeth Pantley Child Behavior Expert Better Beginnings, Inc. | ||
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My 4-year-old daughter explores private parts of her body. Is this normal?
It's natural for children to explore all parts of their body -- from toes all the way up to nose. There are a few places, though, that we are rightly uncomfortable about having this investigation done in public. Try to keep your embarrassment under control so that you don't give your child confusing messages. If your child does something that you feel is inappropriate, make a simple, private statement. "Brittany, please take your hands out of your pants. That's not an appropriate thing to do at the park." After you've made your statement, find something to distract your child: "Why don't you climb up on this?"
Most children will pass through this phase quickly. And as with any childish behavior, once you've established boundaries and consistently enforced them, you'll find that the issue disappears and you'll be on to something else!
Don't confuse a child's innocent actions with adult sexuality. A child may have her hands in his pants because she has an itch, because her hands are cold, or because she doesn't have any pockets in her jeans. Don't jump to conclusions. Take a minute to observe and decide what's really going on before you take any action.
Talk with your pediatrician about children's sexual development, or read up on these issues. It's always good to be one step ahead of your child on any developmental issue.
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