What are you going to do when your little boy discovers that he’s a little boy?

Regardless of the way you feel about touching your private parts, having a son or daughter that walks around in public with a hand down their pants isn’t really socially acceptable.

The most important thing to remember right now is that your baby isn’t doing it because it’s sexual, they’re doing it because they’re learning about their body.

They touch their belly, face and feet right now too. You just don’t think twice about it.

So how do you get them to stop touching themselves in public without setting up sexually unhealthy behavior?

At the age of 12-18 months, disciplining or reasoning with them isn’t going to work. Use the distraction tactic.

My son always tried to “go downstairs” when we were changing his diaper or when we were giving him a bath. i.e. when he’s naked. We always gave him a toy or something to hold while we changed him. All he ended up doing was putting the toy down there too.

Our daycare actually came up with this tip. They sing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” anytime they change the kids. And they use their hands to make a rolling motion while they sing it.

It’s perfect. My son sings along with the song and he makes the motion. He’s engaged enough to forget about touching himself down there. And since he heard it seven or eight times a day, it’s officially the first song he remembers and can sing a few lines to.

Once your toddler gets older, a different tactic probably needs to get taken. I’m not there yet, but if anyone else has experience on how they handled this sometimes embarrassing situation, sound off in the comments.