My Daughter Has a Bit of a "Humping" Issue!

I wasn't going to reply until I came upon the mom who has been telling her daughter that touching will make her hands stinky! Are you TRYING to make your daughter grow up to think she is 'bad, dirty and 'stinky''? That is exactly what you are doing and you may think it is no big thing, but she will have lifelong issues b/c of what is implied by what you say to her. You may think its 'not okay' to touch herself, but quit putting a sexual theme on something that is a natural exploration, please! Now if your kids start having problems with actual masturbation taking over their alone time, THEN I would respond with some gentle intervention....but lets not make our kids into perverts when they are so young.

Now to S.~ I would hate to think that there is something going on that isn't, so why not have her checked out by a psychiatrist or something? It wont hurt her, she won't even know why she is there, and as one mom said, you don't want to be sorry in retrospect. At least maybe it would give you a little more peace of mind when it turns out to be nothing but normal infant behavior.

~L.

Completely Agree with another response - have her looked for infection - My 2 yr old does this when she has her pullup on (nighttime) and has to go potty - cuz she hates peeing in her pullups (it ruins cinderella:)lol

I hope not to alarm you, but I think you should trust your instinctual concern. Humping stuffed animals can be a behavior that children who have been sexually abused may exhibit. I think it is worth finding a therapist who works with children, and referring your daughter for "play therapy." It is possible that there is nothing to be concerned about, but it is also possible that your daughter, while too young to verbalize, is telling a story through the process of her play, and a play therapist may be able to learn more of her story in therapy. Her safety is your prime concern.

I've had this happen with some kids that I used to baby sit for turns out one of them ended up haveing a infection and she was doing that cause she was itching etc! hope it gets better for you Jen

I think this is very normal. I don't think she's 'telling stories'- I've seen both sexes do this at about this age- a lot! The most important thing to keep in mind is to not shame her out of it. I would gently explain that it is something to do in private and leave it at that.

This is a completely NORMAL behavior!! As a counselor I have talked MANY parents through this stage. So it came as a shock when as a mom my then 2 year old started it too. What she is showing is pleasure. She has found out that this behavior creates pleasure in her body. The thing to watch out for is "to much" rubbing. As the friction of her diaper or underwear, clothes, and stuffed animal combination do not make her bottom sore and chapped.
Your doctor is right, she is looking for something soothing and not draw attention to it. Chances are slim they eill see it at preschool because she will be so busy.

Do we have the same child??? LOL

HI-My advice as a former preschool teacher:
This is totally developmentally appropriate behavior. I wouldn't worry at all. It sounds like she is doing this in private, which is what I would tell her is OK. Don't worry about daycare, chances are they've seen tons of it. It probably wouldn't hurt to let the providers know, let them know you are ok with it as long as it is in private.
Good luck!

I have a 3 yo girl. We're having issues here and there with touching. I just say, "no touching" and I try to say it softly and gently. She doesn't even notice that she's doing it most of the time. Like 2 days ago, she's bathing and she's "touching" and I said, "no touching" and she looks at me like "huh?" She had no idea what I was telling her not to touch. So I said, "look at your hands." And then she became aware of what she was touching that I didn't want her to.
I do know that this is a develpomental stage, like the DR said, but I still don't want her doing it or at least thinking it's ok. This may sound gross, but i started to tell her it makes her hands stinky and that seems to help.

I know others believe that this behavior is normal AND ok. I personally feel that it is normal, but not ok. There are lots of behaviors that are natural, like, yelling, crying, throwing, but it doesn't mean they're ok. So you can decide if you feel this particular behvaior is ok or not.

Hello my name is N. and I have a 6 year old son that has been having issues with that same thing since he was 2 and 1/2 but it seems to come in waves. There are times he does it more then other times. Almost like a monthly cycle. But he has found other things to "hump" it is getting worse but I have notice the more I point it out to him the more he does it. But I think it is something that they might out grow. Just watch and see if it is more of a pattern with bed time or specific times of the day or week or month and just watch. They really don't know what they are doing. More then likely she will not do this in front of others. So preschool should not be a problem. Good luck.

Your doctor is right, I actually had a friend growning up who did the same thing, and sorry to say well into her teenage years, the only difference is instead of a stuffed animal she made a fist and used her hands. I can rememebr her mom telling her to go into her room because it was private and should be kept that way, she would do it when I spent the night but I never thought much of it cause she always did it. relax a little there is no harm in her actions.