By Renee Martinez, Founder of Raising Boys World
I called the boys in for breakfast this morning and the 2-year old, comes in with his hands down his pants. This has become a regular sight. Now that he wears big boy underwear and penis is more easily accessible, he has a new toy. I find this stage a bit challenging. I’m not so fond of my son pulling and prodding on his penis in public, yet, I don’t want to give him the impression that I think such behavior is dirty or bad either.
According babycenter.com, this is completely normal behavior for a 2 year-old. They explain that the reason they do it is simply because, like for adults, it feels good. This type of exploration is completely normal and there’s no reason for concern. While it might make the parents a uncomfortable, the article goes on to say, “It won’t cause any physical ills, pose any health risks, or turn your child into a sex maniac. Masturbation in children isn’t sexual (as it is for adults) because toddlers don’t know what sex is. And while explicit sex play in older children is often a tip-off to sexual abuse or exposure to inappropriate sexual material, this is unlikely to be the case with 2-year-olds, who don’t yet possess the imaginative skills for this kind of role adoption. (A 2-year-old who’s been sexually abused is more likely to become withdrawn or suddenly have trouble sleeping than they are to start compulsively masturbating.) That said, a 2-year-old masturbates because the feelings it brings can be as pleasurable for them as they are for an adult.” It’s best to ignore it because drawing attention to it may encourage the child to do it more. Also, children under 3 don’t understand the concept of privacy so it’s best to re-direct their actions to something else.
Apparently, masturbation in children is much like children who pick their nose. They do it because it’s there, and they’re probably bored. It’s important not to treat masturbation as a naughty or dirty act because in the long run, a child might associate sexual or pleasurable feelings with guilt or shame. Children who have been told these actions are dirty or bad, often have conflicted feelings about sex.
Additional information:
Question about a 3-year-old boy
About the Author: Renee Martinez consults and speaks professionally on social media marketing, integrated marketing communications, public relations and branding. She is the president of Ruby Marketing Communications (www.rubymarcom.com), a boutique marketing communications company that specializes in providing branding, social media strategy and integration, and creative services. Her blog (www.lisac95.sg-host.com), provides resources on everything marketing and social media for her active audience.
Renee has contributed as a featured monthly columnist in the monthly jewelry industry publication, JCK, on matters related to internet marketing as well as in InStore Magazine as a featured blogger where she writes about developing effective marketing strategies for the jewelry industry using social media. She is the founder of: Social Media Biz Summit (www.socialmediabizsummit.com), the first large-scale SM conference to come to Buffalo, NY; #jewelrychat, a weekly twitter chat for the jewelry industry and www.RaisingBoysWorld.com. Renee teaches social marketing courses at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY for the business school as well as offers small group social media marketing training and educational seminars for businesses in Western New York and beyond.
Renee has dabbled in the internet marketing arena since the early 90′s and is not ashamed to call herself a “marketing geek”. From chatting in AOL, “sharing” music on Napster, and teaching HTML classes before it was considered “cool” to developing comprehensive social media strategies, effective public relations campaigns and managing online communities (most recently Chevy Girls Buffalo).
She enjoys being able to help people find their voice online and to create buzz about their product or service that will give them the results they desire.
Renee can be found on Twitter (@reneemmartinez) and Facebook (http:/www.facebook.com/RubyMarCom).
