Dr. Rewdius is in the house .......

WARNING: Long post .......

I am also a parent of a five years old LG.
My comment is based by my own perspective as ... a parent of a LG.

I'll focus my thoughts in that area. (Perhaps that didn't come out quite right. LOL)

First ... thank you. I may not have been here long, but I've read a fair number of your posts, and I feel a growing sense of connection to you. Please accept my most humble condolences for what your nephew is having to contend with.

Second ... I don't have a license to practice medicine, psychology, psychiatry, nor family therapy.

Third ... I don't have children of my own, although I'm an uncle, and I've been a very close and intimate friend and mentor to many many lovely LG's and young women.

Fourth ... take what I offer as my OPINION ... not recommendations or fact.

Fifth ... if anything I offer provides benefit, then use sound judgment when you consider applying it ... from me, a website, or some random media mouthpiece on TV.

(Enough of the counting, already!!!)

Your daughter's hunger for experimentation and her interrogative nature are very familiar concepts. I was just like that as a child, but I didn't receive the necessary encouragement to develop those innate skills toward a productive and beneficial means. Whatever.

One observation I'll make right away ... consider yourself lucky to KNOW she wants to experiment and ask questions. Many parents find out only too late their child chose to experiment WITHOUT their knowledge. More about this later.

Messes, depending upon their scope ... and how many firemen have been called to resolve a problem ... are temporary inconveniences. Sure, they'll require extra time out of your day to return everything back to "normal," or as normal as you'd expect, but as long as nothing is broken, nobody's had to go to the emergency room, and it doesn't cost anything out-of-pocket, then ... it's called being a parent. One thing I learned to do with my youngest playmates was play a game called, "How fast can you put things away?" The next game after that one proved successful was, "Did you put everything in their right place?" LOL

Learning is an incredibly complex and as-yet incompletely understood process. No two people, or children, learn the same way. This is one of those mysteries that has no rulebook or guide. But, as long as she shows progress, doesn't repeat her mistakes ... too many times ... and continues to be inquisitive, then she'll survive being five long enough to turn six, then seven, and eight, and so on.

Her desire to openly discuss her "successes" and "adventures" could be a sticky issue, particularly as she grows and shares information with peers, schoolmates, friends, teachers, other adults ... and strangers. I know, I know ... everyone has heard the "stranger-danger" speech, and most parents go WAY overboard with their sense of over-protectiveness, but perfect strangers ... no matter how perfect they may be ... are the wrong folks for your LG to be sharing private information with. Sure, her talking about kissing Trey-Trey may not be that big a deal, but talking about that could lead to discussing more intimate details, particularly if the adult is skilled in careful interrogations. Children go missing that way. (I apologize if I sound a bit too protective, but I'd rather be accused of being cautious than callous.) Ultimately a child needs to know WHO they're able to share details with, and that person/those people should be the child's parents. Nothing more needs to be said.

Telling your LG about sex, masturbation, and intimate details regarding her body only "when she's old enough" ... TO ME ... isn't the right approach. Sure, it's going to make her parents uncomfortable to have a thorough and emotionally-neutral discussion about reproduction, physical pleasure, and where "Tab A" fits into "Slot B," but if she doesn't learn these things from you ... who do you think she's going to learn them from? I'm sure you hope it will be a loving person with appropriate intentions. It would be inappropriate for me to suggest a GL or pedophile should teach her, but we are, after all, "gentle" people rather than monsters, right? You teach her, or someone else will.

Your granting her permission to experiment is good, but WHICH experiments she attempts, and the various devices and tools she'll collect for her laboratory activities are not only important, but should be carefully selected. A rounded crayon might be considered okay in certain circumstances when she grows curious about various bodily orifices, but its cleanliness, diameter, length ... and if an EMT has to be called to retrieve it after she gets carried away are all crucial factors.

Slightly O/T ... yes, an E/R nurse shared some details about an elementary school LG who hid some of her little brother's toys. I'll let you guess where they went, and no ... she didn't sit on them.

Adults, and particularly parents, are often very squeamish about discussing matters of sexuality with children, especially their own offspring, but that's a social and psychological issue, not something that's incurable. Talk to her ... show her what she needs to know. You're a woman, but with a more mature build than hers. Ask yourself if you'd feel more comfortable teaching her a few carefully selected truths, or if you'd like one of the neighborhood boys ... or men ... helping her with her lab exercises. I know that sounds harsh, and it smacks in our face as GL's, but unless you know the man as loving, careful, patient, and honest, then trust is something that is earned, not given away.

There's nothing wrong with learning by practice or example. Although it would be potentially embarrassing to "show" her how to masturbate, you could develop a scenario whereby you encourage her to illustrate what she knows to you, and then you guide her through discussions, self-directed contact, and ultimately any safe and carefully collected "toys" so she won't be injured in any way. Plenty of former LG friends have admitted their first toy was the rounded end of a favorite hairbrush, which confirms why some women keep them until after they're married. You figure it out, guys. LOL

Making out with stuffed animals, or perhaps with dolls and posters in a few years, is an indication, to me, that your LG will eventually move on to other more satisfying things, and then other people. Trey-Trey is going to be replaced by more willing, and potentially less trustworthy partners. I'd be lying if I told you that a curious and horny LG isn't a refreshing and hormonally satisfying prospect, but then ... I have no desire to cause a LG harm, nor end up in jail. She needs to have an outlet for her experimentations. Either provide it, or you'll always wonder WHO her next teacher will be.

Your fear of having "the talk" because of her curiosity with classmates could ultimately come back to haunt you. As I've said before, if she's curious enough she WILL find out, even against your wishes. You can either help teach her, guide her ... or she'll discover her own truths in potentially destructive ways. To be fair millions of LG's learn how to pleasure themselves without guidance, intervention, or the assistance by the guy down the street ... or at least that's the story I'm telling ... but why take the chance she won't learn properly, or safely, or with love? What she learns is in your hands ... both figuratively and literally. Buy her a brand-new shower head with lots of spray patterns and flow selections. It shouldn't be TOO hard to turn "tubby-time" into a teaching moment between a loving mother and her VERY curious little sex experimenter. LOL

I had no idea I was going to write a novel. I apologize, but I've been working on another [potential] article for an upcoming VoA e-Zine about this subject. How better to perfect my work than to try it out here? LOL

Formulating an opinion based on gathered facts and statistical data isn't that difficult, although formatting said information can take practice. By providing this on GC I'm ultimately practicing what I'll work on for a future VoA e-Zine article. (Nice segue, huh?)

I hope this is enough, and yet not too much.

Because I'm well aware that this will be seen and read around the world ... none of my activities were ever illegal.

Also ... what I've shared are my OBSERVATIONS and OPINIONS. What anyone does with my contributions is their own business. WHEW!!!

(LD ... I warned you I might get banned. LOL)