Not down THERE! : A parent’s guide to body exploration in young children

At this stage of my life and my career, I’m getting a lot of questions from friends and colleagues about touching “down there” as a lot of us have toddlers, yet I’m usually the only sex educator people know. Here are some common concerns I’ve been getting lately: 
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“Fred loves to pull on his penis ALL the time. Is this normal?” 

“Jocelyn wants to play with her baby brother’s penis in the bath. What should I do?”

“Jackson has started putting his finger in his anus. His anus! This can’t be good.”

“Leah wants to pull on my nipples and then hers and then mine. Ummm….help?”

“Hannah pulls on her labia every time she uses the potty. This has to be gross, right?”

“Gia puts her hands down her pants sometimes, and my mother said I should tuck her shirt in or make her wear overalls to keep her from doing it.”
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The short answer to all of these fears, is: “Relax, your kids are completely normal!”

Why do young kids touch their genitals? 

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