So my 3yo has recently found his penis. And the other day it was hard and he asked me why it has bones in it. I just acted like I didn't hear him. What should I say if he asks again? And how have you approached the touching and playing with it phase?
Well I dont know what you would say to him but to when he is touching and playing with it just tell him that its not nice to play with it infront of people. You dont want to say its bad to touch it or play with it but just say you cant do it when your around people....
yeah i would go with what PP said. he's old enough for you to explain that sometimes, a lot of blood flows into his penis, making it hard and that its ok for him to play with it, he just shouldn't play with it when there's other people around. tell him if he wants to play with it, he should go into his room, find a quiet spot and do it there. you should never scold a child for playing with their genitals, it could give them a total complex. don't worry about it. i have a daughter myself, but i remember when my little brother was about 3, he would get erections and come into the family room and go "look everyone, my peepee is dancing!!" haha. and all the mothers of boys i know say their sons get erections. its totally normal.
My son has been touching his penis and balls area for god a year now. i just ignore it really. hes only 2 1/2 and doesnt understand yet the "hardness" when it gets hard. so thank god i havent yet had to explain that.
if im changing his diaper and her starts playing with it i just ignore it. dont yell at him because its natrual to be curious about your own body parts. i know i touch myself.
I just act like it's normal- because it is! If Cae is touching himself while sitting on the potty I tell him "you can touch your own body but be careful not to put your hand in the water, because it's icky"
Haha thats cute! :D
Last week M was taking a bath and touching his penis. I said "M, it's ok to touch your privates because they belong to you but it's not really nice to touch them in front of other people"
His reply?
"But Mommy, I have a BIG wiener!"
Apparently, size matters even when you are 4.
Matt's been at it for god knows how long. He's better about not doing it in public than he used to be. He's three, and mothers I've talked to have had varied responses of it stopping somewhere between 6 and 8. We've got a ways to go, ladies. :roll:
I meant the OP's son is three. Matt's four. lol
My son did that when he was younger, and we had the in private descussion. He had made a habbit of doing it in public tho, so when I saw him doing it in public, I would rub my stomach, and he would know that meant he was doing it, and that lasted for about 2 weeks, and he dosen't do it anymore. I told him before-hand that's what I would do if I saw him doing it. It dosen't have to be rubbing your stomach, anything really.
My kids are 6, 3 and 2 and have all found there genitals fun to play with at different times. We used to always find S with his hands down his pants (last year, when he was 5), and would constantly remind him to go into his bedroom or the bathroom for some privacy. I still find him playing while he's in the bath, but I don't say anything because bath time is his private time, even though Mommy has to interupt to wash him up. He's commented on it getting big and I ask him if it felt good when he was playing with it. He says yes, and I tell him sometimes when his penis feels good, it gets bigger for a little while.
K (my two year old) is always playing when I'm changing his diaper. I don't make a big deal over it, and I don't ask him to stop because it feels good to him and I'd rather him play when I'm,changing him then putting his hands down his dirty diaper to play.
my son touches his penis when I change his diaper. It's normal. I don't discourage it, or say its bad or dirty or anything like that. I don't want to encourage a negative body image or start a "sex and sexuality is dirty" thing at a young age.
I'm sure I'll run into the same issue when he gets older. he's only a year and a half now. But I believe in being honest and streight-forward to the best of the childs understanding and maturity level. You know what that is for your child.
If I were going to explain that, I would probebly say something along the lines of "Sometimes it's normal for it to feel good when you touch your penis. Sometimes it will become hard when it feels good. This is something people do privately. If you want to touch it, you need to be in your bedroom or the bathroom. Nobody else except for yourself is aloud to touch your penis. Parents or Doctors are alowed to touch it during check-ups or when you're sick." ... but again, you would say it in a way your child would understand.
When do children usually begin to explore their private areas? My son is only 9 months but I was just wondering when to maybe expect it?
OMG all of the previous posts were CRACKING me up...of course I dont have to deal with that yet..lol...but that one REALLY got me... I can just hear my future malachi saying that...rofl.
I really dont have anything else to say that hasnt been said already...other than a neat fact I just learned the other day...
I was reading "Sweet Dreams" its about children/babies and sleep habits routines etc...and in the section where it talks about fetal sleeping...it mentions that male fetuses get erections when they're in REM state ...which is 70-80% of the time in the womb.
CRAZY huh?
that just about killed me too :lol:
That thing about the male fetus is interesting--I've never heard that before!
my son is 11 almost 12 months and has just started playing with himself when i change his diaper and sometimes in the bath. I just ignore it and when hes old enough to start asking questions, etc then i plan on taking the same approach most of you have mentioned, telling him its okay, but to be done in private.
the only annoying thing is that when i change a poopy diaper, he keeps trying to touch down there and i have to keep moving his hand away so he doesnt get dirty obviously, but i worry about him mistaking that for me stopping him from touching himself, and getting the wrong idea.