Questions to Expect:
The questions your child asks and the answers that are appropriate to give will depend on your child’s age and ability to understand. Following are some of the issues your child may ask about and what he should know at each stage:
Preschool Children
“How did I get in your tummy?”
“Where was I before I got in your tummy?”
“How did I get out?”
“Where do babies come from?”
“How come girls don’t have a penis?”
18 months to 3 years of age. Your child will begin to learn about his own body. It is important to teach your child the proper names for body parts. Making up names for body parts may give the idea that there is something bad about the proper name. Also, teach your child which parts are private (parts covered by a bathing suit).
4 to 5 years of age. Your child may begin to show an interest in basic sexuality, both her own and that of the opposite sex. She may ask where babies come from. She may want to know why boys’ and girls’ bodies are different. She may also touch her own genitals and may even show an interest in the genitals of other children. These are not adult sexual activities, but signs of normal interest. However, your child needs to learn what is all right to do and what is not. Setting limits to exploration is really a family matter. You may decide to teach your child the following:
- Interest in genital organs is healthy and natural.
- Nudity and sexual play in public are not all right.
- No other person, including even close friends and relatives, may touch her “private parts.” The exceptions are doctors and nurses during physical exams and her own parents when they are trying to find the cause of any pain in the genital area.
Last Updated 11/12/2009
Source Caring for Your School-Age Child: Ages 5 to 12 (Copyright © 2004 American Academy of Pediatrics)
The information contained on this Web site should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.
