My wife and I (mostly my wife) are in the process of potty training our twins.
So we’re knee-deep in the classics of potty training lit: Once Upon a Potty, Big Boys Use the Potty, Potty Time, etc.
And we’re also experiencing scenes like this, which happened this morning:
“Who wants to see me pee?” announces Ethan, our four year old.
Celia and Henry follow Ethan into the bathroom. They watch him pee. They are transfixed.
After Ethan finishes, Celia points at Ethan’s penis and laughs.
“That’s Ethan’s penis,” my wife explains.
“You guys have one too,” says Ethan.
“Not Celia,” says my wife. “Not me. We don’t have a penis.”
“Yes you do,” he insists.
“We’re girls,” she continues. “We don’t have penises.”
“Celia had a penis when she was a baby.”
“What about Mommy?” I ask. “Did she have a penis when she was a baby?”
“Yes. And when Celia gets big and is a big girl like Mommy she’ll have what Mommy has.”