My 3 year old grandson is completely potty trained. But he has a habit of "fondling his private parts" constantly. I ask him if he needs to use the bathroom. Most of the time he says, "no". How do I handle this situation?
Well this is not an uncommon thing for girls and boys at that age. I was told to say. Now is not the time to be doing that. Then have them go do something to distract them. Worked for me. Eventually the catch the drift that this is a private thing
That is VERY normal for boys his age - it will actually go on for a few more years, but he will become more discreet about it. He is just exploring his body and what things are, how do they work, why are they there. That sort of thing. Hang in there - he is fine.
S.
My grandson is four and he does this sometimes to. The best thing to do is not point it out and make it an issue. According to a friend of mine this is normal. I have three brothers and they never did this either. Most of the time if he stays busy doing some activity he doesn't do this. I have found that ignoring it is best. My grandson is my joy!
Just to rule it out, you might ask him if it itches next time. Then it could be a yeast issue.
Otherwise, he could just be exploring. My son went through this and I had to put pants that buttoned and fit fairly tight, to discourage this for awhile from happening at daycare. I believe he did it without even thinking before that, and he had easy access with elastic waist pants. After a couple weeks of the tighter pants, he stopped doing it at daycare.
This is all too common. I've been reading a lot about toilet learning as I prepare to work on it with my daughter. Everything says that after you spend all this time focusing on that part of the body, they are naturally going to be more interested and aware of it. I agree with the other moms just to explain that this is something to do in "private" because they are his "private" parts. Good luck.
What I told my boys is that was not to be done in public..others did not want to see that..soon they stopped doing that altogether..good luck..
S. B
This is really very common...especially for boys, but my daughter does this too sometimes. My best friend's little boy used to play with himself a lot and we just tell him that it is not nice to touch yourself when others are around, so he needs to only do that in private. We don't want him to feel like it is a bad thing or be ashamed, but he needs to know the appropriate times.
My son is six and still does it. I threaten to cut it off but he just looks at me and laughs. Boys!
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It sounds to me like he is just exploring a newly discovered body part. If it bothers you that he does it in public, maybe you could encourage him to find a more private time to explore, like in the bathtub. And little girls do it too! My niece, who is almost two, also expresses a curiosity about her privates.
I recently read in a baby book that it is human nature and kids are going to play with their private parts. You just have to tell them that it is not something they should do in public. Hope that helps.
Betsy
As I'm sure you are aware, it's a guy thing. It's a constant need to make sure "they are still there" as I refer to it. I finally told my son that it is rude and that the chances of it falling off were pretty slim so stop touching it. I asked him if he ever saw his sister or I walking around touching our private parts and he said no, I said fine, I don't want to see you do it either. It's not something my hubby is in the habit of doing either or I would tell him the same thing because it drives me nuts to see a guy do that "adjustment" in public.
Simply explain to him that those are his private parts and it's not good manners to check them out in front of other people. Whenever you see him doing it, you can try to distract him with something else that uses his hands or gently remove his hand from his pants without saying anything or while giving him a gentle reminder. Don't make a big fuss, just keep reminding him that he's free to check things out on his own and suggest that he go to his room or the bathroom if he needs to do so or remind him that he's not alone. I would verbally remind my son when I first saw him doing it during the day, and after that I would either say, "Remember, you're not alone," or I would just gently remove his hand and try to move him on to something else. Then I just waited it out. Kids are curious about their private parts the way they are about anything else, and they need time to check themselves out until they're satisfied, but they also need to know when that is appropriate and when it's not. Good luck teaching that to your grandson! :)
He probably just itches down there. When you see him playing with it, ask him if it itches. If he says "no" then ask him to stop playing with himself, it's not polite. Most kids are just curious about the thing down there and it does feel good to them to play with it. If he starts playing with it after you've asked him to stop, distract him with something else that requires the use of both hands, that may help. Have him clean himself with a damp rag when he awakens in the mornings and after naps, that may help if it does itch.
Hi S.,
Your grandson maybe experiencing a slight itch, This is common in boys his age due to urinal bacteria. From the old school, we were not afraid to use mineral/baby oil to clean the private areas of childern. However, in this day and age we can use a wash cloth in the bath tub to properly was the private parts of children. I hope this helps. send me feedback.
I think this is very normal. I have a four (almost five) year old son. He recently went through a phase where he was touching his private part often. I believe he was doing it subconciously. When questiong him about it, "Does it hurt or itch?" He just said no. So I simply told him to stop. It's not nice to do, especially in front of others. I had to remind him a few times but he does not really do it very often. If he does, I simply remind him again, not to do it.
I have 2 boys and 5 nephews (the oldest is 16 and the youngest is 6). They all fondle themselves constantly. I think it starts around 6 months and never stops. Try and get your grandson to have some modesty on when he does explore himself. Also have patience as this is natural for a guy. We have told them if they play with it too much it will fall off. Since all the boys are older than all the girls, when the first girl was born we told all the younger boys that she did have one because she played with it to much. That worked for a long time.
I'm pretty sure that just means he's a boy! You know how they are, once they find it, they never let go....EVER. MY son is doing it too and he's 2 1/2. They are just discovering themselves. Good luck!
Hi!
I grew up with a brother and now I have a wonderful son who is almost 6 yrs. old, and I can tell you that it is probably just a "boy" thing! From the time my son was 6 months old, every time his diaper came off he would grab hold of his 'stuff' and act like I was going to take it away from him! From then on every time he got naked, was in the bathtub or on the potty he would have a hand on it like it was going to go away if he didn't hold on to it! I explained about washing hands after touching himself and going to the bathroom and about how it was not nice or polite to touch his 'privates' while in 'public'...and I had to remind him a LOT. I also explained that while it might feel good to touch himself down there, it was NOT something you do in front of other people, EVER. Usually when he started to touch himself I would tell him he needed to go into his room where he could have privacy....he didn't like to 'miss any action' so he would usually stop. Even now, when he gets naked for a bath he usually has a hand on it. My husband also said it was "just a natural instinct to protect it." My friend's 3 yr. old daughter was almost worse as she would stick her hand into her panties at anytime and anyplace! (She's now a teenager and doesn't believe that she ever did that.) Good Luck!
Welcome to the world of boys. I have the first boy in the extended family and it is amazing how different they are!
It is completely normal behavior for a boy of that age to 'discover' his private parts! When my now 4 1/2 year old started that, I would simply tell him that we didn't play with our private parts in front of other people and tell him to get his hand out of his pants. I didn't want to make him seem like he was doing anything dirty, but I wanted him to know that was not acceptable behavior in front of others.
This method worked for me!
Enjoy your little boy!! I know that my mom and I are loving ours!!
