You will all be happy to know that the deed has been done. Last night my daughter finally decided that she wanted to shower with Daddy again so I took a deep breath, turned on the water and ripped my undies off.
Initially she didn’t even flinch (as if she would) but when we got into that tiny shower she couldn’t help but notice what was hanging directly in front of her face.
“Oh look”, she says, “there’s Daddy’s penis!” At least my anatomy lessons were working. She then moved in for a closer look and if it wasn’t for all of the advice I had received regarding this then I am not at all sure I would have been able to get through it.
She batted it to the left and the right a couple of times and then after she had washed the whole area with a soapy sponge the inspection was finished and she went back to lining up all the shampoo bottles in the bottom of the shower. Phew!
I’ve gotta say that I was right when I mentioned that she would want a full inspection. That is the way she is about everything. I am also quite glad (despite the backlash) that I put the question about gender revelations out there as initially I had no idea how to tackle the situation.
Thank you to the few of you who relayed your own experiences. I still felt a little weird about the whole thing but thanks to you I felt less awkward about feeling awkward!? It is always good to know that others have had similar experiences.
I now know that it is quite normal to feel this way and the best solution is to forge ahead with honest answers and not make too much of a fuss about it, which is what we have now done.
As for the rest of you who called me all sorts of names and told me that I have hang ups and body image issues I will only say that your criticism was unhelpful. It can be quite easy to sit on the sidelines and take pot shots at my ignorance but I wonder how many of you have actually had to do this? It is not as easy as it might sound.
I sincerely believe that in this situation, it is far more difficult for men as our genitalia is external. While a little boys’ fingers can poke at mums’ hairy bit it is a little bit different to accidentally slapping your daughter in the face with your dangly bits.
Anyone who has kids will know how quickly things change and when nudity suddenly became a problem I was not prepared for, I did the only other thing a parent can do. I panicked!
Anyhow, as usual, there is always a reason to laugh and as we were finishing the shower she looked at my penis again and then up at me.
“Daddy – I don’t like your penis.”
“Oh really? Why not honey?”
“Cause it’s funny looking and it keeps on looking at me…”
Ahhhh! So funny. Don’t worry – my husband feels the same way and we also have a small shower in our new house. But after the first time or two, they haven’t said another word about it! Keep up the good work – you’re doing great!
Then there’s the little girl who happened to enter the bathroom while Grandpa was whizzing. “What’s that?” she asked. “Er, Umm, it’s my penis.” he replied.
“Oh, she said, “All I got is wrinkles.”
(True story)