Do toddlers masturbate?

[Cheeseycheese]

I know a couple of kids, one a boy, the other a girl, both have just turned 3, who do this very weird looking thing. It's hard to explain but I think if any of you have seen it you'll know exactly what I mean. They're lying down on the floor or a sofa, facing down, both hands tucked down in the croach area, but outside the nappy/clothes, and they kind of 'wriggle', make these funny up and down movements. What exactly is going on???

[beansprout]

It's not really a sexual thing at that age but they can find it comforting. Not a big deal, but a time and a place.

[Cheeseycheese]

So what do you do if they're doing it CONSTANTLY?

[Fubsy]

Give them sopmething more interesting to do!

[loujay]

When my DD started doing this it seemed to happen all the time because it was a "new thing".
We explained that it was OK to do but that if she wanted to do it she had to be on her own and preferably in her bedroom (she used to use it as a comforter to get her to sleep)

[harpsichordcarrier]

my dd2 was wriggling around in the sandpit yesterday and a granny nearby said oh look she's swimming
yeah, kinda