My 3 year old daughter has started to explore her body and found that playing with her vagina and rubbing teddies and such on it feels nice. I don't want to chastise her or make her feel ashamed but I am unsure what I should be doing to discourage this especially whilst with other family members present. Do I tell her to stop? Redirect her? Tell her to only do it in private like in her bedroom alone?
2 Replies
I usually dont give it too much attention. But briefly say "we only do that in private. You could do that in your room. Not in the lounge room please".
I agree with the above poster - dont make a big deal just calmly ask them to stop when in family areas. Both of my kids discovered their private parts at an early age and if they are nude they are touching themselves (I have a boy and girl aged 4 and 2) but I constantly remind them that it is only appropriate to do that in private eg. Their bedroom when they are on their own. They stop straight away and they have never gone into their rooms to play with themselves. It's a normal thing for them to do so I dont get cranky. My friends and family dont acknowledge it so it's never a big deal.