Worrying behaviour in 3 year old

[nippey]

My just turned 3 year old DD has started displaying some behaviour that is worrying me but I do tend to be a massive worrier so wanted a sense check before I speak to Nursery / GP.

Over the past few week, I (and Nursery )have been really trying to encourage her potty training, she had been reliably dry for about 3 months but never managed to do a poo in the toilet.

She started to show more interest in her genitals, which I thought was a consequence of all the time on the toilet. We have had a lot of conversations and talked about them being her private parts and that they are for her only as advised by health visitor.

About a week ago, she started to wet herself again and has become really clingy and badly behaved. Tonight she asked me to stroke her vagina (I know this isn’t the correct word but it works for us) I told her again about her private parts being only for her. She then asked me if I liked boys willies and if I wanted to eat one.

She is in full time Nursery with a very open room and toilet area that has 4-6 Nursery workers and 20ish children depending on the day and is only ever alone with me.

I can’t think of a time that anyone could have these conversations/interaction with her other than the other children.

All of this together makes me feel really worried but I don’t know if it’s just because we have been talking so much about it. Would really help to hear what you all think.
Thank you.

I have a recently potty trained three year old and, honestly, he loves his genitals. I seem to spend a lot of time asking him to remove his hands from his pants.
So I don’t think being interested in their own bodies is unusual.
The chat, however, is unusual.
In your situation I would phone Childline and ask their advice. They really know their stuff and will give you an educated sounding board.

As a pre-school practitioner this is ringing huge safeguarding concerns for me in terms of the other children there and what they could possibly be being exposed to in their own lives; please, please tell the manager there - I can promise that they will not judge you at all and will thank you for raising it with them; for all you know this may not be the first report and they may have heard other language similar to this from children. It really is so vital that you report it to them, it absolutely is not normal language for children at all as you know.

Another alternative is to contact your local children's safeguarding board and anonymously report the nursery who will then contact them and investigate. It depends how close you are to the staff etc. In any case, tell someone.

Thank you for your replies, it’s good to know I’m not over thinking it, I suffer with anxiety so I am never quite sure!
I will speak to the Nursery manager when I see her tomorrow.

Thanks for replying nippey, you must have felt so sick when she was saying those things, poor girl. It's frightening to think that she is parroting them from somewhere. It's exactly the right thing and pretty courageous actually to tell the manager, they will be hugely grateful to you for telling them.