Toddler touching his genital

[mslksy]

My son is about 2.5 year old and it all started around 1 month ago, he seems to like touching his genital and rubbing it against either my leg or the floor. At first it lasts for 1-2 hours and I can easily distract him, now it becomes his habit and he cannot stop unless I pull him out to do something else. If I leave him alone, he can continue doing it without stopping. This really bothers me, he seems to enjoy it so much. Have any parents out there observed this kind of behaviour on their toddlers?? How long will it last or will this ever go away when they grow up?? In fact, I took him to see a doctor and that doctor only replied that it is completely normal and didn't offer me any suggestions to stop this except only to distract him everytime. Please share with me your experiences. Thanks a lot.

[Daizy]

Hi there, my son is only 15 months and I haven't had that problem yet but I remember visiting my cousins and my 4 year old cousin would touch his genitals and they had to constantly remind him not to do it. I have also seen other kids do it, I guess you should keep distracting him and it will be tough for him to fully stop but eventually he'll get the hang of it.

[barbwong_130]

My friend’s son enjoyed touching himself, especially when bored waiting in his pushchair. My friend kept reminding him that this was something that you do by yourself in the bathroom and not in public. I liked this approach because you don’t want children to think their natural and normal behaviour is wrong but on the other hand there are expectations from society too.

[secretsquirrel]

I also noticed my 2 years old son touching his genital few weeks ago. I have recently been potty training him and initially I thought because it's itchy, that's why he keeps scratching and touching it, so I start to wash the genital very often but he still continue till now.

[carang]

"society" says it's bad... toddlers don't give a hoot about what "society" says....

it feels good, that's why he's doing it. all you can do is continue to distract him...and remember, try not to make him think what he is doing is bad or dirty... just not acceptable in public...

good luck!

[fly]

I've got a Lavazza Matinee, you can buy it straight from the distributor here in HK. If you have seen the Convention Centre coffee shop by the main entrance, they use 2 in the back, so it's (meant to be) commercial grade. Order a cuppa and make up your own mind if the brew is good for you. It's similar to the FF in that both use pods, but the price for FF is outrageous in HK. I was considering getting one on London and lugging it back before I got my Lavazza. The FF looks great though!

I enjoy a good espresso but love the convenience of not having to keep my beans fresh, grind them, etc. Too many variables for me, personnally.

[conniee]

Hello.
Don't worry about your son touching himself : ) because according to Psychology he is going through the Oeudipus stage which states that he is sexually attracted to his mother however as he carries on to develop cognitive abilities he will gain gender identification from your husband. Most children will go through this phase!

: )

[capital]

This is normal,

the less you make a big deal out of it the better.