3yo very interested in private areas??

[floiejo2]

So our 3.5 yo dd is quite interested in the difference between girls and boys. I'm thinking it's just normal curiosity but still wondering a bit cause she seems a bit obsessed. Dd1 was never that interested, she learned the difference early and that was that with her. But dd2 talks about the fact that girls and boys have different genitals all the time, she's even been drawing anatomically correct pictures lately of our family, drawing daddy with a boy part (which is a line between the legs in her 3 yr old drawings). She really likes her boy barbie doll right now which she received for Christmas from a family member and is playing that the mommy barbie and daddy barbie are getting married and making them kiss. We just went to a wedding and she just saw a movie with a wedding where the couple kissed when pronounced husband and wife. And of course she sees her parents kissing each other. We've always been an open family as far as bathing/showering, walking around naked before we get dressed...My dh isn't really naked much in front of the girls but they have seen him using the bathroom. We don't ever make a big deal of anything, answer questions honestly (on a 3 yo level), talk about it matter of factly whenever she wants to, but also have told her that our privates are private and had that whole talk and the fact that we don't make fun of genitals or make dirty jokes...So does this sound like just normal curiosity with this kind of thing to you all? Anyone else's child seem very interested or have a stage like that?

[LynnS6]

Sounds very normal to me. Dd goes through waves where she's very interested -- first it was in the differences between boys and girls. Then at 3 1/2 it was how babies were made. Now at 6 1/2, she's kind of going through another phase of interest. I got the books "It's Not the Stork" (and now "It's So Amazing"), and we've read those together.

When dd was 3 -4, she was convinced she was going to marry her brother. She was 4 when she asked "how exactly does the sperm and egg get together" and I told her the mechanics of sex. She then announced "I'm going to do that with my brother when we're older." GULP. (so, it could be worse!) She's past that phase now. She knows that she can't marry her brother, she knows that sex is something you do when you're grown up. She's currently interested in gestation and puberty.

Her older brother has asked 2 questions about that since he was 4. Different kids, different interests.

[NannyMcPhee]

Sounds totally normal. My child has gone through a similar stage. He asked how babies where made when we were driving in the car one day and I told him the best I could.  When we got home I asked him to tell his dad what he learnt and he said something hilarious about throwing seeds into mums tummy.  We took the oppurtunity and got some books out of the library. There are some excellent factual child orientated books on anatomy and how babies are made etc out there. We also talk about how our genitals are private and no one is to touch them except yourself, or mummy or daddy while bathing,

[MusicianDad]

Perfectly normal. A whole lot of kids go through this stage at some point.

[KimberlyD0]

Very normal :)

[meemee]

normal has a huge range. dd has seen her dad and me naked till i think her dad got shy at 5 or 6. and my dd rolls her eyes at him 'what's the big deal about nakedness' but understands its his issue so she has to respect it.

so she never asked questions. however at 3 seh was really upset she didnt have a penis like daddy. the hair dresser had already talked her out of getting a haircut like grandpa - bald in the center with buzz around. 

got her a dollar ketchup bottle (the type at burger joints red and yellow for ketchup and mustard) and she would 'pee' holding her 'penis' in the bathtub to her heart's delight. she loved it. 

have the pee, fart, poop jokes started yet. my mom told me out of her 3 bros one was really into who has a penis and who had a vagina. do ants/hippopotomus/trees/rose have...