It can come as a shock to parents when they first see their children playing with their genitals. But it's something that's common in little boys and girls.
We don't usually take much notice when children touch other parts of their bodies. After all, it's all part of their early exploration of themselves and the world around them. But when their hands roam to their genitals, it can trigger a whole range of different emotions, and doubts: Is my child's behaviour normal? How should I respond? What will other people think?
Parents can find themselves questioning their own behaviour as much as their children's.
yet it is just a part of ourselves, it's as much a part of our existence as our hunger urges and our thirst. I mean it's an innate aspect of this that we have sexual urges, but we don't talk about them and so we don't normalise them. And so what we as parents have, is our own biases, our own anxieties, our own hang-ups about sexuality. And of course that affects the way in which we respond to our children.
There's some difference between boys and girls. Boys discover their genitals from a very, very early age, from the time they're on the change table being left there before they can even turn over, they start discovering that playing with their penis is quite a pleasurable activity.
Girls don't generally discover their genitals at that age, and this is of course because girls' genitals are more hidden, and so the source of sexual pleasure for the girls, the clitoris, takes a bit longer to discover. For some girls it can be a very long period of time, it might be until they get to their 40s or 50s or maybe never do they discover their genitals as a source of sexual pleasure. But for others, they may when they're toddlers, find that it's really nice to rub up against the bed or to rub up against a pillow or something like that. So with girls it varies enormously, but with boys they're more likely to discover their genitals as a source of pleasure from a very early age.
This is most apparent for girls because I think to some extent parents accept that boys are more sexually oriented, and so they to some extent accept that the boy will because of his basic nature, play with his genitals and get pleasure from that. They don't condone it, but there's not the same level of censuring that you get with girls, where the parents indicate very, very clearly that this is quite aberrant behaviour and that they really shouldn't be doing that.
In closure to your question, what im saying is, as long as it is the privacy of their own bedroom, children should explore their bodies. There really is no age limit as to when a child should or shouldnt be doing this....the only time a parent need worry, is when the child displays sexual gratification in public. Or toward an older child or adult, and when the parent feels that there might be further issues indicating abuse.
2006-10-29 23:23:58
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answer #1
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answered by Mintjulip 6
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Some begin as young as 6, but at that age, it's more of a curiosity than anything lustful,
2006-10-29 23:12:28
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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There is no set age
2016-05-22 07:06:57
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answer #3
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answered by Anonymous
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It will be fine if she doesn't.But I do not know on what purpose u asked but it may be after puberty or after the physical changes in herself because those or the things which make her feel femine in her teenage.
like my ans choose me the best
2006-10-29 23:15:25
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answer #4
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answered by Anonymous
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13? maybe
2006-10-29 23:13:40
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answer #5
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answered by Anonymous
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Depends. I caught my 4 yr old touching herself but not actually masturbating.
2006-10-29 23:13:44
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answer #6
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answered by Anonymous
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when she matures feeling will higher
2006-10-29 23:16:29
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answer #7
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answered by K 2
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The CENOZOIC.
2006-10-29 23:26:56
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answer #8
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answered by cassandra 6
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again a **** topic.
2014-09-11 23:54:23
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answer #9
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answered by Anonymous
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not sure
2006-10-30 05:18:40
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answer #10
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answered by NDmom 4
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