Childhood sexual behaviour at 0-3 years: parent education guide

• Sexual behaviour is part of overall development.
• In early childhood, overall development includes curiosity about bodies.
• You can support healthy behaviour by creating a healthy family environment, talking early and often, and handling inappropriate behaviour calmly.
• Some childhood sexual behaviour is harmful. You should seek professional advice about this behaviour.

On this page:

• Typical sexual behaviour in childhood: 0-3 years
• How to support healthy behaviour: tips for parents
• What to do about harmful behaviour: advice for parents
• Where to get help for harmful behaviour in babies and toddlers
• More information for parents about sexual behaviour

Typical sexual behaviour in childhood: 0-3 years

Sexual behaviour is part of overall development in early childhood, including newborn development, baby development and toddler development.

At 0-3 years, children’s development includes curiosity and the desire to learn about their bodies. They might enjoy being naked, explore their genitals, or show interest in other people’s bodies during everyday care moments like bathing or toileting.

Like all behaviour, sexual behaviour is also shaped by children’s social relationships, cultural backgrounds and personal experiences.

What to expect at 0-3 years: touch, play and talk

Here’s some developmentally typical behaviour that you might see at this age. Your child might:

• touch, hold, pull and poke their own genitals
• look at or touch the genitals of familiar children or adults in a curious way in the bath or toilet
• show an interest in body parts and how they work
• enjoy being naked
• repeat new words for toileting, bodily functions or body parts.

Why do children behave this way at 0-3 years?

Your child might behave in these ways because they’re:

• learning about physical sensations, touch and their bodies
• curious about the differences among bodies
• trying to understand families and relationships
• learning and exploring new words.

Children start developing sexually from birth, and sexual behaviour is part of this development. Sexual development is a lifelong process that includes physical changes like puberty and the beliefs children develop about bodies, relationships, gender and sexuality.

How to support healthy behaviour: tips for parents

Children start learning about healthy behaviour from birth, and they learn by watching how you and other adults communicate and behave. As children get older, they also learn from their friends and peers and from things they see on TV and online, and in movies, books, magazines and so on.

This means you can create a family environment that encourages healthy sexual behaviour by:

• being a role model for respectful behaviour towards others
• introducing ideas about consent early
• looking at your family’s attitudes to gender
• monitoring the apps, games, TV, movies and online videos your child engages with.

Talk early, talk often

At 0-3 years, one of the best ways to support healthy sexual behaviour is talking and listening. Talking and listening gives you the chance to hear what your child thinks and knows about bodies and relationships. As your child’s language develops, they can also start asking questions and you can answer in honest and age-appropriate ways.

These conversations send the message that your child can come to you for reliable, non-judgmental information.

You can use everyday moments to get conversations started. Or you could read books together or, as your child gets older, go online together and talk about things you come across.

Handle inappropriate behaviour calmly

Kids will sometimes behave in ways that aren’t appropriate. For example, if your child asks a question loudly or explores their body at an unhelpful time, you can gently redirect them. For example, you could say, ‘We can talk about that when we’re at home’ or ‘Let’s find something else to play with now’.

What to do about harmful behaviour: advice for parents

Sometimes sexual behaviour in babies and toddlers isn’t what’s expected for their developmental stage. This behaviour is called harmful sexual behaviour.

What is harmful behaviour at 0-3 years?

At this age, harmful behaviour in children includes:

• continuing to touch or rub their own genitals even when someone has tried to get them to do something else
• imitating adult sexual acts like repeated thrusting or ‘humping’
• masturbating in ways that injure their genitals
• persistently touching other people’s genitals or trying to do this even when they’ve been encouraged to do something else
• using sexually aggressive or explicit words
• using sexual acts on other children during play – for example, oral sex, masturbation or penetration with fingers or objects.

Why does harmful behaviour happen at 0-3 years?

At this age, children might behave in sexually harmful ways for many reasons. For example, it might happen because they:

• have been exposed to pornography or adult sexual activity and are re-enacting what they’ve seen
• are experiencing child sexual abuse or other forms of child abuse
• find it hard to express and manage their emotions.

Where to get help for harmful behaviour in babies and toddlers

If you’re worried, seek support.

A GP or child and family health nurse is a good place to start. They can refer you to an experienced health professional who can help you understand what’s happening and how you can help your child.

You can also contact Kids Helpline or a child sexual safety helpline.

Harmful sexual behaviour in children can be upsetting. You can get support by contacting helplines and specialist services.

Šaltiniai

Bravehearts. (2025). Harmful sexual behaviours (including peer-instigated abuse). Bravehearts. https://bravehearts.org.au/research-lobbying/stats-facts/harmful-sexual-behaviours-peer-instigated-abuse/.

eSafety Commissioner. (2025). Online safety and sexual development: Guidance for parents and caregivers. eSafety Commissioner. Retrieved 19 February 2026 from https://www.esafety.gov.au/communities/child-safe-communities/developmental-guidance.

Government of Western Australia, Department of Health. (2019). Talk soon, talk often: A guide for parents talking to their kids about sex. Government of Western Australia. Retrieved5 March 2026 from https://www.healthywa.wa.gov.au/Articles/S_T/Talk-soon-Talk-often.

Heitner, D. (2023). Growing up in public: Coming of age in a digital world. Harper Collins.

Lamb, S., & Gilbert, J. (Eds). (2018). The Cambridge handbook of sexual development: Childhood and adolescence. Cambridge University Press.

Paton, A., & Bromfield, L. (2022). Continuum for understanding harmful sexual behaviours. Australian Centre for Child Protection, University of South Australia. Retrieved 7 January 2026 from https://www.unisa.edu.au/siteassets/research/accp/paton-bromfield-may-2022-hsb-continuum_.pdf.

More information for parents about sexual behaviour

You can learn more about typical and harmful behaviour throughout childhood and adolescence in the following parent guides:

• Childhood sexual behaviour at 4-6 years: parent education guide
• Childhood sexual behaviour at 7-9 years: parent education guide
• Childhood sexual behaviour at 10-11 years: parent education guide
• Childhood sexual behaviour at 12-14 years: parent education guide
• Childhood sexual behaviour at 15-17 years: parent education guide
• Sex education for children and teenagers with disability