Is your son circumcised? Is he different than his father?

Question

I'm just curious how much the "norm" is really changing.
My son is uncircumcised, but his father is circumcised.

Answer 1

my step so is cercumsized like his father...it is easyer to potty train if they look like daddy
here is the artical taht helped us decide to go ahead with it:
This is a decision that many parents face. There are many misconceptions and out-of-date information that parents may read. Here is a summary of the pertinent issues that you should consider when making this decision.

Medical benefits - THERE ARE NONE! Do not circumcise your baby because you think there are some medical benefits. A recent review by the American Academy of Pediatrics looked at all the data from the past decades to see if there truly were any medical benefits. Their conclusion - NO. There are no significant medical benefits that make circumcision worth doing. Here are a few benefits that we used to think were true, and now know are not.

Cleanliness - although it is true, a circumcised penis does not collect any white stuff underneath the foreskin like an intact penis does, THIS IS NOT A MEDICAL BENEFIT. It is really just one less area to wash in the shower.

Decreased risk of STD's - this was a myth that we now know is not true.

Decreased risk of penile cancer - it used to be thought that circumcised men had a much lower chance of cancer of the penis. We now know that this benefit is much smaller than previously thought. The AAP determined that this benefit is so tiny, it is not worth circumcising for this reason.

Avoiding infections in the foreskin - it is true, occasionally intact foreskins get irritated. This is easily treated with warms soaks and washing. Rarely, the irritated foreskin becomes infected. This requires antibiotics to clear up, but is easily treatable. Even if this does happen once or twice in a person's life, it is not a reason to circumcise at birth.

Avoiding the need to do it later on - very rarely, someone has a problem with recurrent infections in the foreskin that need antibiotic treatment. Some of these men then need to be circumcised in an operating room under general anesthesia. This is extremely rare, however, and is not a reason to circumcise everyone at birth.

Avoiding bladder infections - it used to thought that circumcised boys and men had a much lower chance of bladder infections. The AAP now knows that this benefit is very small, and is only true for the first few years of life. After that, there is no difference in the number of bladder infections. Again, not a reason to circumcise.

THEREFORE, IF YOU DECIDE TO CIRCUMCISE YOUR CHILD, DO NOT DO SO BECAUSE YOU THINK THERE IS ANY MEDICAL BENEFIT.

Religious reasons - some people choose to circumcise for religious or cultural reasons. This is a personal decision.

Don't want to be teased - while this may have been true in the U.S. decades ago, the truth is that your uncircumcised kids will be in good company in the locker room when they are teenagers. Less and less people in the U.S. are now circumcising their boys.

Too much trouble to take care of - some people think that an intact penis is too much trouble to pull back and clean, especially during childhood. Well, the truth is, you are not even supposed to pull back the foreskin until it naturally comes back on its own between age 3 years and adolescence. So there really isn't anything to even take care of until then.

Want your boy to look like dad - the main difference that your child will notice between him and dad is the hair. He won't even notice any difference in the penis until he is old enough that you can then explain to him the difference.

So, what are the reasons TO circumcise? Here is the list:

Religious reasons - as discussed above.

That is all. There really is no good reason to circumcise other that personal preference and religious reasons.

Are there any reasons NOT to circumcise? Consider these:

Leave nature alone - whether you believe God created men with a foreskin, or nature simply evolved this way, there must be some reason men have foreskins. Why change something that God/nature has created?

Sensation and sexual pleasure - the foreskin is filled with nerves, and is therefore extremely sensitive to touch. This enhances sexual pleasure.

Protects the glans (head) of the penis - the glans is another highly sensitive area. The foreskin protects the glans from constant rubbing and chaffing against clothing that can desensitize it over the years. This preserves sexual pleasure.

Ethical issues - there are groups of people worldwide, including medical societies, that oppose routine circumcision because they feel it is unethical for a parent to decide to alter the penis of their child without the child's consent. Parents who are deciding whether or not to circumcise their son may wish to consider the impact this may have in the future if the child decides they wish they were not circumcised.
So, when making this decision, the first thing to ask yourself is this - "Do I have any good reason to circumcise my baby?" If your answer is for religious reasons, then follow your faith. If not, and you can't think of any other significant reason other than just "because", then consider the above information as you make your decision.

Answer 2

I think it all depends on your beliefs and just how you feel about it!

My father was never circumcised but they had my brother done! Not for any beliefs. They just felt it was a more cleaner and stood less chance of problems down the line!

My Dad does not feel poorly for not being done, it was 63 yrs ago and his family could not afford such things, he was not born in a hospital but at home delivered by his own Dad!

my husband has been done and when we were pregnant we figured it any of our babies were boys that would would have the procedure done! But for us all were girls and did not have to deal with it!

I think it is all in how you feel about it! As for cleanliness, I think if they are taught right about bathing and such there should be know problem!

Answer 3

My son is circumcised to be like his father, but after we did it we kind of second guessed our decision (at least I did!). Now if I have another boy I will definately do it again because my husband was different than his brothers and it bothered him growing up, so we won't have our sons be different. I think there isn't a right answer with circumcision. Studies show tat it is cleaner, especially in old men, but yet it is "genital mutilation" and therefore questionable. But then agian, every society has social norms, and this is just one of ours, so is it so bad? Who knows... my jury is out on this issue still!

Answer 4

My son is not circumcised but his dad was. There is no medical or hygenic reason to cirmumcise a boy. If you teach your child to be clean then there's no reason to say it's hygenic because there is NO difference. I circumcised my oldest son and after I saw what happened to him there was NO way I would do that to my son. Never again will I do that. If he wants it done so badly he can do it himself when he is grown. I cannot understand why people say it's more hygenic if they are circumcised because it's not true! TEACH the child to be clean and he'll be clean!

Answer 5

My son was circumcised the day after he was born. It was more traumatic for me as a mother than him being the one going through the pain. My husband actually stayed in the room while it was preformed, he said our son was most uncomfortable when he was forced to lye there. More tars were shed because his cry was not attended to, rather than the doctor cutting his foreskin. My husband was circumcised as a child too. I believe it's a wise choice to have it done, it's a hard choice, but the sooner the better.

Answer 6

Both my boys are circumsized, not different from their dad. I did it because it was more cleanly, and there was always that thought of them in a locker room at 13 looking different from other boys.
Most men opt for circumsision when they are older if they haven't had it as a child, so at least this way they don't have the memory of the procedure

Answer 7

My son is not circumcised and his daddy is. We both agreed on not having it done for our son. I did not want to put my little boy through the pain, and I am glad I told them no because of the problems he was having when he was born due to the dr. incompetence and meconium staining.

Answer 8

My son is circumcised and his father is not. I did it for the hygiene, it seems easier to clean.

Answer 9

i am 8 months pregnant with my son and he's getting circumcised.

Answer 10

My three son's are and their father is too, but that's not why I had it done. When I was pregnant with my first I knew 3 adult men that need to get it done.