Fear of a Name

Tonight Natalie, Craig and I (plus the two pups of course) were all curled up in the big bed in our bedroom watching Lady and the Tramp...or the dog-dog movie as Natalie puts it.

She looks over at Ajax who was splayed out on his back in what must have been a state of near nirvana as I gently scratched his belly.

"What's that?" she asked while pointing at his private bits.

Craig and I glance at each other.  He cocks his head in anticipation of how I will handle this special moment with our daughter.

"That is Ajax's penis.  It's how he goes pee-pee," I answered in my most matter-of-fact-its-really-no-big-deal voice.

And not much else was said as she glanced once again and then focused back on the debacle of Lady in the muzzle.

So that's how we're going to handle it for right now.  She's two and just naturally curious so I'm not terribly concerned.

To be honest, I hear "what's that, Momma?" approximately forty-seven times a day and as annoying as it can be to answer "that's the can opener" forty-seven times in a row...I understand it's just part of her learning and processing the world and I'm thankful for a curious child.

For as long as the answer is satisfactory, we're going to keep with the functionality of those parts and keep it short and to the point.  I also have the phrase from Harry Potter floating around in my brain when it comes to this subject - fear of a name increases fear of the itself.  If Craig and I freak out and make a big deal out of the human body then Natalie will pick up on those cues and all of a sudden, the differences between male and female and the idea of having "privates" at all will be a HUGE, big thing.

So we're keeping it casual and answering her questions matter-of-factly and for the time being, it seems to satiate her curious little heart.