It’s normal to be concerned about your toddler’s behavior especially when it drifts into the realm of sexuality and physical appearance. Learn how to respond with understanding and boundaries to your toddler’s behavior.
Estimated reading time: 1 minute
Toddlers are naturally curious! At this stage of development, it’s perfectly normal for toddlers to explore their private parts.
Actually, this development is a good sign and opportunity for you to begin to build a healthy foundation of body image and sexuality with your toddler.
Here are some things you can do and should know when your toddler starts to explore his or her genitals.
As you navigate these complex situations and continue to build a foundation of sexuality for your children, check out more resources here.
Dr. Daniel Huerta is Vice President of Parenting and Youth for Focus on the Family, overseeing the ministry’s initiatives that equip moms and dads with biblical principles and counsel for raising healthy, resilient children rooted in a thriving faith.
He is a psychologist, a licensed clinical social worker, and the author of 7 Traits of Effective Parenting. For many years, he has provided families with practical, biblically-based and research-based parenting advice on topics including media discernment, discipline, communication, mental health issues, conflict resolution, and healthy sexuality in the home. He is passionate about coming alongside parents as they raise contributors, instead of consumers, in a culture desperately in need of God’s kingdom.
Dr. Huerta has been interviewed by various media outlets including Fox News, Fatherly, Christianity Today, WORLD Magazine, and CBN, and he is a frequent guest on Christian radio stations across the nation. He’s also written for publications, including The Washington Post, on various topics related to marriage and parenting. He participated in the development of Focus on the Family’s Launch Into the Teen Years, a resource to help parents prepare their kids for adolescence, and he speaks regularly at retreats, conventions, and online events.
Dr. Huerta has maintained a private practice in Colorado Springs, Colorado since 2003 and has served families through Focus on the Family since 2004. He and his wife, Heather, have been married since 1997 and love being parents to their three teen children, Alex, Lexi, and Maci.
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Start the conversation about human sexuality on a godly note by answering a young child’s first questions about human sexuality.
Have hope. You can take steps to have healthy, God-honoring sex and intimacy in marriage.
One of the biggest misperceptions about Christianity is that it’s simply about acting right. When Christian parents overemphasize their child’s behavior rather than their heart, the real message they send often has more shame than love. As secular opinions continue to reject biblical standards, many Christians struggle to discern what their response should be to such hot-button topics as transgenderism.
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