When to talk about sex

[Sandrine]

My daughter is 4. Yesterday she told me in school, her classmate pee in class. She asked me to guess who he was and then told me that when he pee, something sticks out and it's straight. I just told her that he's a boy and he's different from girls. Should I have talked more? Is this the right time to tell her the difference between boys and girls? How did you start talking about it? So far, I've only told her that her body is her own business and only those who take care of her can touch her when she takes a bath or goes to the bathroom, e.g. mom and dad and our helper.

 

[scr]

My son is 4 too. He got curious almost a year ago though when he saw his cousin (girl) peeing sitting down. So I told him the same thing that boys and girls are different. And he began conducting his own survey at home (we were at my parents then) asking everyone if they had a willy or not ! It was funny. Anyway we went on to remind him that he should talk about it only to mum and dad. And of course not allow anyone other than mum,dad,doctor to touch him there. Sometimes he still asks me if I have a willy/ did I break mine ? But basically he accepts the fact that boys and girls are different. I think at this young age giving them a long complicated answer may get them confused. They accept simple answers easily. Let her be your guide as to how much she needs or wants to know. If she has accepted that boys and girls are different then it's fine. She might come up with a another question in a few days time and you can answer that too in as simple terms as possible.

Hope that helps.