My 1-year old daughter has recently taken up the habit of trying to grab a hold of my 3-year old son's frontal appendage. Her latest attempt, while getting into pajamas tonight, led to the following conversation with him.
"No, you don't touch your brother's penis."
"But I can touch my own penis."
"Yes, but she cannot touch your penis, just like you cannot touch her..."
Yikes. I had not introduced this word to him yet.
"Her what?"
"Her vagina."
"Her WHAT?"
"Her vagina. She does not have a penis. She is a girl. Girls have vaginas."
"Where did her penis go?"
"She never had one. She was born as a girl."
"She is not a girl. She is a baby."
"She is a girl and you are a boy. You were born that way."
"Well, where is her vagina?"
"It is covered by her diaper right now."
I watched the wheels turning in his head as he listed everyone he knows who is a boy (Daddy, Papa, Poppy, friends at school, Mickey Mouse...) and who is a girl (Mommy, sister, Nana, Mimi, Dora the Explorer...) and pieced together this new information about everyone's anatomy.
After about 475 questions, eventually the conversation changed topics. However, later when my husband called to say good night to the kids, my son immediately piped in with his newfound terminology. My husband was provided with a dissertation on penises and vaginas and who has what. Tomorrow night's bath might be a little bit more interesting.
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