4 year old asking about breasts

[cattleist]

We are on a holiday in our native country. DD who is 4yr old is being extremely pampered by grandparents, uncles and aunts. The other day DD was hugging my sister and she suddenly blurted out "what are these big things?" referring to my sister's breasts. Since then she keeps asking my mum as well why she has big breasts. Is this abnormal behaviour for a 4yr old. Today she was looking at herself in the mirror and kept saying "mine ate tiny aunty has big ones". Her behaviour is driving me crazy. Am I overthinking?

Just tell her little girls have little ones and they will grow bigger when she gets older.

My girls push their chests out and ask am I bigger like mummy yet.

They also know they have a vagina and mummy has a vagina and nos have a penis currently pronounced peanuts 🥜. They now about periods as well. They went through a stage of saying oh he's a boy do he's got peanuts on she's a girl has she got a vagina. I'm just very matter of fact. Obviously, not so great in the supermarket bit hey ho.

Don't be embarrassed. Don't teach them to be embarrassed about bodies.

Lol try having more than one little girl asking

This.

👏

Of course it's normal!
Surely she has commented on bodies and body parts before now?

Just explain ladies have them and they come in different sizes. But I’d try not to make a fuss of it so that she doesn’t ask everyone about their breasts.

You're massively overthinking. My 3 year old granddaughter reminds me often that my boobies are not as big and bouncy as mummy's boobies 🤣🤣

You just answer the question🙄
Women grow them to feed babies.

Mine used to 'beep beep' them 🙄 your little one is obviously more civilised!

Completely normal behaviour, she’s learning about her body and noticing how it’s different from others. Where I live, nursery age children learn about body parts and then learn about what areas people shouldn’t touch etc.

4yo DD asked my mum last time she visited why hers were ‘long and floppy’. 2yo DD yells BOOBIES whenever I get changed, and last week managed to wave her hand through DH’s wee stream when playing her usual game of watch all the adults on the loo.

Kids are curious. They do weird stuff like this all time, you’d best get used to it.

I BFed her only for a year so she might not have any memory of seeing mine though.

She has never seen yours since? No wonder she's mega curious then. I'm not suggesting you should wander around stark naked all day every day, but surely she's seen you undressed before?

Answer all her questions factually and simply, without drama or undue emotion, then sit back and wait until she shows the same fascination with vaginas 😂

Mine also wants to touch them, she's 6. I tell her not to, because it hurts, but with a smile, not angrily. But mil let's her cuddle and put her head against her breast, says "I don't mind". Is that weird?
I am genuinely asking, as I come from a rather prude upbringing, no sisters either.

Yes you're overthinking, you're also sexualising breasts and thinking about this from an adults perspective, which does not exist for a child. Try to get comfortable yourself with your own body parts, so you don't pass your discomfort on to your DC as a complex about her own body. Elbows, noses, vulvas, knees, hair, eyes, ears, bellies, buttocks, testicles, shoulders. All body parts, none of them need to be sexualised when talking about them with a child.

If she had noticed that everyone have different sized an shaped feet, would that be freaking you out? No. You would say, oh yes Grandpa has big feet, grandma has smaller ones like me, everyone has a different body, bodies come in all shapes and sizes.

@Hiddenvoice This is what I want to teach her. To be safe about her body as well and not allow others to touch her inappropriately.

@Dirkyone23 same here I felt embarrassed only because of the nature of the society I come from. I don't want people to judge her curiosity as something else.

Anything about bodies address it as a science lesson. Where do babies come from should be just as unembarrassed conversation as why are my eyes blue but yours are brown.

It's perfectly normal. However, it is absolutely OK to say "You can ask me questions when we're on our own if you need to, but we don't talk about other people's bodies in front of them" and shut down/distract from the boob talk apart from that.

@Oysterbabe that would be a confusing thing to tell a child because women who never have a baby still have breasts.
Breasts are designed for feeding babies but they are also just a part of a woman’s body.

I don't think it's weird it's not like she'll be doing it when she's 16 (or maybe she will but not with you mil iyswim 😆)

Have you talk pants. My kids know the pants rules. I was SA. I also am very clear that they don't need to hug, kiss anyone. Its their choice. They also know no one is allowed to touch them. My brother patted my daughter on her her the other day and she told him " don't touch me please. I don't like it".

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/pants-underwear-rule/

My three year old knows about boobies, that they provide milk for babies. She’s also aware of periods, that blood comes out when the cushion is too old and there’s no baby in mummies belly.

I think you need to be honest and just answer the questions, it’s not sexual it’s not rude it’s the same as asking about a leg to them.

I would recommend to teach them the under pants rule and they’re a great song on YouTube. It talks about private parts of your body etc. you can add breasts into this as a private area when talking.

Im going to have this stuck in my head 🤣

This is another good one around boundaries and that people like different things. It’s ok to ask people to stop etc

@SoCentralRain my daughter is 15 and if I am getting dressed when she is there I announce “Boob Alert” and she pretends to run screaming so I wobble them at her 😂😂😂