By Stacey Stein May 27, At first, it was like any other playdate—two families gathered together, kids playing, adults chatting. But things took an unexpected turn when Mandie Orvitz noticed her four-year-old son, Ben, with his pants around his ankles, waving his penis around with reckless abandon. There was also a cringe-inducing incident at a popular froyo place. Do you let your kids see you naked? One moment, a penis or vagina is just another unremarkable body part.
How can I recognize sexual abuse if it happened to my three-and-a-half-year-old daughter? About a month ago she told me a friend of ours touched her vagina. Since that time she has said nothing else and on gentle questioning she said it did not happen. There are no behavioral changes and her behavior towards the man in question has not changed at all. I have no idea why she said this and my feeling is that it is completely innocent. She is also at the stage where she is very interested in what a penis is and what a vagina is — she occasionally can be found on the floor probing her vagina.
Kelly Wallace, CNN. Kelly Wallace is CNN's digital correspondent and editor-at-large covering family, career and life. She is a mom of two girls. CNN Let me say at the start that there is no way around the topic of nakedness in front of your children without getting personal and slightly uncomfortable. I'm already feeling somewhat tense as I type this.
If you have a delicate question about your newborn's body, we've probably got the answer here. Infant penis is not necessarily a term that a new mom wants to search on the Web -- or that she'd want another person finding in her search history. But our knowledge about "down there" is often as fuzzy as an ultrasound screen image, and once we're in the daily routine of changing diapers, having a clear view doesn't always equal having a clear understanding of what's going on. Discussing your baby's privates with your pediatrician can be uncomfortable, but try not to be shy.