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Kids Discover Their Bodies:

When kids reach a certain time in their life, usually around 3 or 4 years old, they will discover their bodies, and you may catch them in the midst of nakedness exploring themselves.

While it is never an easy thing for a parent to witness, it is perfectly normal. All kids do this at some point or another, and there are really only three things you can do:

• Punish Them—Some parents feel that the child will grow out of this phase more quickly if they punish the child every time they catch them in the middle of playing with themselves. This is one way to try to get them to stop, but there really is no knowing how long it will take for your child to move on. Just as with everything your child learns, this is something new, and when a child learns something new, they want to do it all the time until that newness wears off. This is why you may want to consider skipping the punishment, because more than likely, no matter how much you try to punish your child for doing it, it's likely that they will continue anyway.

• Try to ignore it—Obviously this can only be done to a point. You can ignore it as much as possible, and when you catch your child doing it, simply tell them not to. Remind them that little ladies and little gentlemen do not play with themselves. This really won't speed up the arrival of the end of the phase, but maybe it will help limit the amount they do it.

• Wait for the phase to pass—Whether you choose to punish your child or not, this is something that has to take place. You simply have to wait until your child has gotten this out of their system and they are back to normal. In the meantime, you should just try to remember that it isn't just your child. Almost all children hit this phase at one point or another, and they usually grow out of it pretty shortly thereafter (how long the phase will last varies greatly from child to child).



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