It’s very common for the penis of an older infant or toddler to look smaller than it is. Parents (especially dads) worry that the child will have a small penis when he is older. Unless a child had an abnormally small penis at birth, this finding is usually due to something doctors call a “buried” or “hidden” penis.One of the cute things about young children is that they are pudgy. In particular, children often have a prominent fat pad in front of the pubic bone. When this occurs, the penis tends to disappear within the fat pad making it appear small. In some cases, all you may see is the tip of the penis poking out of the fat pad like a tiny turtlehead.The way to assess the true length of the penis is to gently push down on the fat pad. When you do this, you will notice that the penis elongates revealing its true size as the fat is pushed towards the baby. I use this maneuver to reassure parents on a daily basis.