At what age....

[ITS ME]

is it normal to become sexually aware of yourself?


I have a 2½ year old son that has recently realized at times he gets “big”. Within the last week while changing his diaper as well as getting him undressed for bath time, he has attempted on SEVERAL occasions to dry hump, either my leg, thigh or the floor at which point, he notices that he gets “big” (his word). I have also noticed twice in the past week that he puts his hands down his pants. I do not make a big deal when he does any of this, but rather redirect and divert his attention. Is this normal at such an early age?

 

[morningbell]

is it normal to become sexually aware of yourself?


I have a 2½ year old son that has recently realized at times he gets “big”. Within the last week while changing his diaper as well as getting him undressed for bath time, he has attempted on SEVERAL occasions to dry hump, either my leg, thigh or the floor at which point, he notices that he gets “big” (his word). I have also noticed twice in the past week that he puts his hands down his pants. I do not make a big deal when he does any of this, but rather redirect and divert his attention. Is this normal at such an early age?

Dr. Sears has good books for parenting but I say its normal, he doesn't know what he is doing, to him it just feels good and redirecting is the way to go.

 

[StrawberryGal]

It's normal.

 

[backagain39]

Normal.....and you are doing correctly, just don't make a big deal of it (pardon the pun!) and he will stop after the *newness* wears off.....

 

[Cowgirl]

Be glad you don't have a girl.

 

[Jeff]

I went through the same but found keeping a couple of emergency towels in the bathroom helped get through that stage when doing the potty training. Those EMHOs (Early Morning Hard Ons) can make it a bit awkward aiming.

If you feed into it and draw attention to it he'll likely make a point of letting you know about it everytime.

I have seen a couple of kids whose parents took a bad approach and brought attention to it and the kids would make an effort to tell or show anybody within earshot of their issue.

 

[ITS ME]

Thank you everyone! That makes me feel a whole lot better that he is acting age appropriate and not just being a little perve (just kidding). Seriously thanks again, that does make me feel better.

 

[MysticalMom]

Be glad you don't have a girl.

 

[Nanny Pam]

I think it's normal, too.

I saw one of my little boys (3 years old) scratching himself one day and asked him if he had an itch, to which he replied....
"no Nanny....I just wanna touch it."

 

[kwillia]

I think it's normal, too.

I saw one of my little boys (3 years old) scratching himself one day and asked him if he had an itch, to which he replied....
"no Nanny....I just wanna touch it."

And it's not just a phase... they never outgrow it...

 

[cattitude]

is it normal to become sexually aware of yourself?


I have a 2½ year old son that has recently realized at times he gets “big”. Within the last week while changing his diaper as well as getting him undressed for bath time, he has attempted on SEVERAL occasions to dry hump, either my leg, thigh or the floor at which point, he notices that he gets “big” (his word). I have also noticed twice in the past week that he puts his hands down his pants. I do not make a big deal when he does any of this, but rather redirect and divert his attention. Is this normal at such an early age?

I'd swat him with a rolled up newspaper.

 

[Nanny Pam]

I'd swat him with a rolled up newspaper.

 

[KWAK]

My daughter is 3 and does what I refer to as 'The Humpy Thing'. She sits in her car seat (still with a 5 point harness so the one strap comes up between her legs) and like rides herself. . . It drives me crazy because she won't get out of the car until she's "finished". I asked the pediatrician about it once, and was told that 'masturbation was a completely normal thing'. I was appalled that my daughter was masturbating in front of me!!

So, yep, normal.