Should boys be circumcised?

Answer 1

To address concerns about mocking, it seems that teenage boys do not spend a lot of time in the locker room looking at their classmate's package. I would think that the person who discovered his classmate was not circumcised would get picked on for looking.

There are religious reasons to circumcise a boy. Jewish people do it to represent their covenant with God but there is not a universal rule about it in Christianity. Some sects do, others don't.

There are concerns about pain, anaesthesia is not always used with circumcision. Of course, if the child is only a few days old, he will not remember the pain. Medical groups agree that anaesthesia should be used, so if you demand it, the doctor will probably cave and use it.

Medically, I don't believe there is much difference either way. There's risk with circumcision, as there is with any surgery, but it seems to be fairly low. It has been shown that circumcision reduces the rate of STD transmission, but it is in no way a sure thing. It seems smarter to teach your child about protection than to assume circumcision will be enough.

There's a concern about hygiene and higher rates of infection with non-circumcised boys. However, if you teach the child proper cleaning techniques, this would seem to be of less concern than it used to be. Remember, circumcision came about during a time when people did not have daily access to soap and water.

There's additional risk of penile cancer with uncircumcised boys, but hey...what *doesn't* cause cancer nowadays? Besides, the research on this is funky. There's a few other concerns, such as tight foreskin, but if the boy has a problem like this, it makes sense to go ahead and circumsize him.

The American Association of Pediatrics has an offical circumcision policy statement, here's an exerpt. "Existing scientific evidence demonstrates potential medical benefits of newborn male circumcision; however, these data are not sufficient to recommend routine neonatal circumcision. In the case of circumcision, in which there are potential benefits and risks, yet the procedure is not essential to the child’s current well-being, parents should determine what is in the best interest of the child."

Basically, I guess it comes down to whatever you fancy. If your husband/boyfriend/whatever is circumsized, he would probably want his son to be the same way. I don't believe that I will circumsize my sons because I would hate it someone ever cut around on my naughty bits. I don't think it really matters that much. If the boy decides he wants it done, he can make that decision one day.

Answer 2

it is a personal choice. I chose not to have my first son done and he is just fine. The only reason they say it is better to have it done is because of better hygiene and to prevent cancer. Like other people have said, as long you teach them to keep it clean they will be just fine. I am pregnant with my second child and it is supposed to be another boy and I am choosing not to have him done either. There are many web sites out there that will tell you pros's and cons for this issue.

and personally out of all my boyfriends I have had over half of them were not circumcised so it's not an uncommon thing anymore. I think the ratio is like 60% are and 40% aren't. They say the Male has a much better sexual experience if they are not circumcised also although the female can not tell the difference.

Answer 3

I used to think so, I had my son circumcised when he was born, He is 9 now. Then I went to nursing school and had to watch someone elses baby be circumcised. It was horrifying to watch. I recently had another baby, luckily I had a girl so I wasn't faced with the decision again. But while I was pregnant I researched it thoroughly because I wasn't sure if I wanted to put another baby boy through it. I found out that it really doesn't prevent infections as much as some claim it does (with proper hygeine) it actually takes away alot of the sensitivity of the nerves on the penis. I believe that men should have the choice to mutilate themselves when they are old enough to do so.(By a doctor ofcourse)

Answer 4

That's a tough question. I have a three month old son and it broke my heart when we had to have it done, but my deciding factor was his dad. My husband is circumcised and I didn't want him to grow up thinking he was different from daddy. I figure it would be kind of confusing if he's learning to pee with daddy teaching him. If my husband wouldn't have been circumcised, I would have definitely not done it for the same reason. I do know that doctors say circumcised boys have less s.t.d.'s and infections because it's "cleaner", but ultimately it comes down to your choice. Do research and talk to your doctor about what is best for your son.

Answer 5

My husband is uncircumcised. His was the first "untrimmed" penis I'd ever seen. I quite like it. Actually, I'll go even further and say that I am VERY happy with it. He is a hygiene freak so I guess he got the message from his parents early on that keeping clean is important. He has never told me any horror stories about having any related health problems or locker room teasing episodes or complaints from the ladies. It's up to you of course but remember if you leave him uncircumcised now and he is adamant about it (even though it will hurt like the dickens!) he can always be circumcised when he's old enough to make up his own mind about it.

Answer 6

If U are from America I think they should. I faced this problem with my son. my fiance and I didnt know if we should because it doesnt actually serve a purpose anymore. Theres a lot of educationing website out there to read so check them out. But anyways, we ended up getting it done. Only for the reason that we do live in america and in america its common to have it done. Anywhere else in the world other then the jews dont get it done. But we figured that we didnt want our son to look like a "monster" to a girl when it came time for him to expiernce that part of life. Now-a-days children and teenagers are harsher then ever about anything that is not "normal" on someone. And we didnt want him to have to go through that. My fiance and I are 23 and 22 yrs old so we know how highschoolers are... we graduated only 4 yrs ago. So basically if u urself have to make this choice I would definately read into it a lot and then play in the factors like we did about teasing and tormenting. then make ur choice

Answer 7

I am a believer in circusicion. I believe it is cleaner. And while they are young you can make sure they are cleaning it right.... but once they reach a certain age, you cant be asking if their penis is clean. A lot of kids, when they hit puberty arent worried about how clean they are... how do you know they are taking care of it and cleaning it right? A lot of peopel are against it. Even after my first son had it done and ended up in childrens hospital, because the doc slipped a bit and they couldnt stop the bleeding. I had a other boy a year later and still had him done, i am pregnant with boy #3 and will again, have him circumcized.

Answer 8

I am a pediatric nurse for 14 years and most people do have their son's circumcised but it really isn't necessary but there are some risks of not having it circumcised cause they can get penile cancer yeast infections but just teach them general hygiene and all should be fine ,

Answer 9

I think it's becoming more of a personal choice then a yes or no. It is usually done as a religious thing or to resemble the father or peers. Also it is to help aid personal hygiene. But I read an article stating that there is now no proof that it is bad to not have it done, as far as health problems go. But I would choose to get it done if I had a boy.

Answer 10

only for looks and sex, i say yes. my first partner wasn't circumsised and i hated the foreskin being in the way and being puled back. it looked gross. i have a 5 year old brother and a 3 year old sin. my brother is not circumcised and it freaked my son out when he saw it. My first ended up getting circumcised 2 years latter because he was being teased by the girls he dated.