Thursday, January 24, 2008

daddy has a hot dog

Little 'Ny has become quite aware of her different body parts -- nose, elbow, knee, etc. But, recently she has become more interested in her private parts. For example, stating (very loudly) her "little boobies" are different from Mommy's "big boobies".

We knew these uncomfortable topics would come up, but we have been focusing so much on potty training, introducing manners and staying on top of the temper tantrums that we hadn't really thought about explaining private parts. So, the comment Little 'Ny made the other morning really took us by surprise ...

Hubs was in the shower getting ready for work and (as usual) Little 'Ny wandered into the bathroom and poked her head into the shower to say "hi" to Daddy. Hubs tried to quickly cover up, but clearly he didn't do it in time because Little 'Ny exclaimed "Daddy has a hot dog!"

(Uncomfortably long dramatic pause.)

Of course our response was "What did you say?" followed by fits of nervous giggling. I quickly ushered Little 'Ny out of the bathroom and redirected her attention.

Looking back at the situation I realize I should have taken the opportunity to explaine to Little 'Ny the difference between boys and girls private parts. But, how do you do that with a 2.5 year old?

Please leave me a comment if you have any good recommendations on how to handle this situation ... how did you explain private parts to your kids?

4 comments:

  1. Oy.

    The "experts" say to use the technical terms, but we mostly refer to everything as "pee-pees"

    *I* don't like to say penis, so it feels weird to make my kids say it :)

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  2. Rt says "daddy's got a big wiener." we just say yes and confirm his discovery.

    We call mine a J.J. :D

    Figured we'd get into specifics at some point down the line.

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  3. Hot dog... I got the best giggle out of that!

    awesome!

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  4. Ugh! I've got two boys and struggled both times with this. Good luck!

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