My four-year-old daughter, for the last two to three months, has developed an behavior that is puzzling me. She touches the front of her genital area approximately 80 times per hour. The touch is very quick and does not appear to be enacted for the purpose of sexual stimulation. It's just a quick touch and then she goes on with the activity in which she's involved. She does it when she's sitting at the table eating, when she's playing with toys, when she's watching TV, when she's taking a bath, and even when she's playing and running outside. I've gently questioned her about it. I've explained that it's okay to touch herself when she's in her room or the bathroom - that it's a behavior she needs to do in private. I explained that she needs to stop touching her privates when other people are around her. I've tried giving her a replacement behavior to do instead. I told her I wanted her to touch her belly button instead. I explained I would remind her to touch her belly button to help her learn the new behavior. When I remind her, she quickly touches her belly button and then smiles at me. I've been reinforcing her verbally when she touches her belly button. However, she continues to touch her privates continually as though she is not aware that she's doing it.
My husband, who is an RN, checked her to see if there were any signs of a yeast infection or other reason why she might be touching herself. He found nothing of concern.
Is it time to take her to the pediatrician or a child psychologist, or should I just continue to wait and see if it resolves without an intervention?
Thanks.