My 3 y/o keeps playing with himself..
 

It is funny how 2 kids can be so completely different. My 13 y/o was potty trained by the time he was 18 month old. He just woke up one day and decided to use the toilet. It was that instant. I remember reading Nathans Dad's posts about his 3 y/o and potty training having no clue why his kid would not go on the toilet. My 13 y/o was easy. My 3 y/o still shows no interest in the toilet. So I feel your pain now.

My 13 y/o when little would get erections and get mad at them. I remember him getting upset over it.


Now my 3 y/o....... My wife and I are dumbstruck. He keeps wandering off into his room, closing the door and playing with his erection. This is not a once in a while thing either. He does it a lot. When you walk in on him he gets kind of flustered. Puts it away quickly and acts like he wasn't doing anything.

We are not making a huge deal out of it with him and hope its a passing fad. We actually had to walk to another room one time and get the laughing over.

I normally just ask him what he is doing and he quickly replies, nothing daddy and changes the subject.

He shouldn't know to be embarresed and we have not done anything to indicate to him what he is doing is wrong so we are really baffled over the closed door in the bedroom thing and the quickly covering up. It not the playing with himself so much that bothers me its more the sense of embaressment that has me baffled.

Here comes the jokes.

Hopefully maybe some of you wise men can tell me if we are handling this correctly by not making a big deal of it and letting it run its course.

Little boys do that because it feels good. The best response is that he can't do it in front of others. Most likely, he'll quit in a few months, until puberty anyway.

like father, like son. :)

You were supposed to stop? :eek:

Ummm uh....


No, it's too easy... I'll be nice.


Very tricky problem, don't want him to think it is a bad thing but he needs to know there is an appropriate time and place for such activities.

I don't have kids so as usual I'm useless, hopefully one of the doc's will chime in.

Paste has a lifesized poster of Lew in the bathroom to help him along...

Is he snipped?

Just collating data, as they say. ;)

My parents used the "every time you masturbate god kills a kitten" system on me...


Did I mention I don't have any children?

Can't help you, but a friend of mine's daughter used to do that when she was around 3 or 4. We'd be in his garage working on something, and she would just take off her shorts and start poking around down there. A bit awkward and unsettling, to say the least...

Hmmm, Definitely don't want to give him a complex by shaming him at that age. That could cause permanent damage and adversely affect your relationship. I'm no expert, but IMO the best parent-child relationships I've seen in life are the ones where kids feel like they can discuss anything w/ the parents, especially sex or other delicate issues. This is an opportunity to establish that kind of bond at a young age, the last thing you want to do is project any embarrassment on him.

I'd have a talk w/ him and tell him that his private parts are not for others to see, (outside of the family), the standard modesty talk but w/ no shame attached. That's the big one.

Who knows? Maybe he'll grow up to be President or Sec. of Def. :)

More likely a Surgeon General!

LOL!! He is 3 YEARS OLD.

Maybe I should just get him a hooker.

A masturbation speach should not be needed for at least 8 more years.

Its more like he is playing with a new found toy. Its little he pokes around at it it gets big. He thinks its cool.

I am more baffled at the fact that he hides to do this.

Thoms friends kid whipped her junk out in front of everyone without a concern. That is how its supposed to be with a 3 year old.

Just do like the Catholics do and tell him it's a sin and he kills the baby Jesus every time he even thinks about it. Oh, don't forget the "you'll go blind" part, too. . .

I am not adult enough to have this conversation.

Any chance he's learned the "this is an embarassing thing" stuff from the 13 year old? Maybe embarassed him in front of a friend and was reprimanded or something?

Electro shock therapy... it worked for me... not bad once you get used to it!

If anyone needs me I will be in the basement chopping the heads off mice.

Seriously...is he circumcised?

Does he even have enought to get ahold of at that age? Don't worry, he will get over it. Kids do really weird things but don't start to think they are until some adult tells them so.

Yes he is snipped.

You have my curiosity now. Why do you ask?

Just let him do it until he needs glasses!

He just practicing to be a porn star. which wouldn't be that bad. I can see Jim on true life storys saying hes always been a progidy , and that hes been doing this since he was kid. :)

My friend's daughter is pretty into it at 7. She does it at night, in bed, in private but isn't all that shy about it. Her 9-year-old sister thinks it's kind of icky. Mom is not making a big deal out of it, expecting that the behavior is going to stay private. Both are adopted Russian orphans so it's not easy to know what they were exposed to when very young. They seem to be extremely well adjusted in every other way.

Well, you shot down my theory, anyway. :( You may recall (or you might not) I posted a poll surveying the circumcision landscape here in the US. My wife was dead-set against it and it's traditional in my family. End result, my son is uncut.

My wife claims (from reading material--not experience) that uncut men enjoy sex more.

Oh well, there goes my argument. ;)

Just be thankful that he does it in private. Imagine at the grocery store or when friends are over.

I am sure it will pass.

I did not know there were men that were not enjoying sex that much. How do you guage enjoying sex more?

I had read that unsnipped men finish faster because their glans are more sensitive due to them being tucked in their protective glove.

So I guess that equates to enjoying it more.

Both my boys are snipped. A co worker was on my case about it when my 1st was born. Then she had to take her 8 y/o in to get snipped. End of argument.

My personal experiance end results may vary from penis to penis.

it will pass Don't worry about it. If not well, just provide him with the guidance to know where this behavior is and is not acceptable.

and how many penises do you have personal experience with?

Sorry Jim, just couldn't pass that one up.

Just remind him that IT'S DIRTY, IT'S DIRTY!! DON'T EVER TOUCH YOUR DIRTY, FILTHY LITTLE PENIS!! DIRTY, DIRTY, DIRTY!! That should help.

" I just found out what my special purpose is!!!!."

--THe JeRK

You might want to ask him why he hides. He may have heard something from an older child. Is he ever in daycare?

My son is 3 1/2 & has gone through little phases like this, but he has never tried to hide it. I also have a daughter that is now grown that I recall having some behavior like that as well. How I approached it was to ask them if they have to go potty & leave it at that, very simple, but effective.

If my son was hiding it, I would wonder where he learned it. My wife is very open-minded & doesn’t en/discourages this sort of thing. I would call my son's pediatrician & ask if it's normal for a child to hide this behavior unlearned before I started the inquisition.

I have a vivid memory of standing before my Dad once when I was very small and pulling on my little knob through my pajamas, (not really masterbating but just mindlessly diddling), and my Dad very matter-of-factly said, "stop playing w/ your dick".

Not very tactful, I know, but I was only embarrassed for about 5 seconds and it broke the habit. (At least with an audience). I just had not even realised I was doing it.

Ah, sometimes I pine for those non-PC times when parenting was a lot simpler. :cool:

I remember my brother doing that, absent-mindedly at the lake. My father said: "stop pulling on it. it won't get any longer."

Now that I think of it I distinctly remember my mother frequently telling my sister to stop "digging". I think she was 3 or so at the time. LOL!

Awesome, unfortunatly, my 3 year old does not know what the word dick means. Its a PP or as nanny and nano call it a pishi.

Well, I was only playing w/ one thing at the time so any word would have worked.;)

If I was juggling or riding a unicycle while pulling my pud, it would have been confusing.

You mean we're supposed to play with it all out in the open?

Sounds like he needs a subscription to Hustler.

We're supposed to stop absent-mindedly playing with it?

I'll have to get a nervous tick or something now.

Perhaps the freedom of no diaper while potty training has exposed him to new findings...

If you had your pecker wrapped up for 3 years, wouldn't you what to feel it?