boys toddlers-playing with wee wee

[bagel]

Hello,

My 3 year old son is often playing with his wee wee. At home he is usually in underwear and therefore has easy access to his wee wee. I don't see him do this in public, only at home. Is this common amongst little boys?

What should I say to him? Should I put him in pants/trousers at home to deter him?

Thank you as always!

[carang]

do you mean his penis? or his wee wee (urine)?

it is VERY common. it is a part of the body that your boy is learning about and exploring, just like his toes or fingers that he may have figured out when he was younger.

why doesn't your boy wear trousers at home? are you toilet training him? or does he just not like to wear his clothes?

when my boy was younger, i found that in the summer, he seemed to "play" with his penis a lot. i asked him why he was always touching his penis. his reply was that it was "sticking" to his tummy because he was sweating. so we started putting on baby powder before we went out. that solved the issue.

of course, he still sometimes plays with it... it must feel good, right? i just ask him to stop playing with it. and to wash his hands.

[thanka2]

As far as I understand it, all boys touch their penises or "play" with them and the frequency only increases with age. I think the most important thing (for us) is to teach him when it is appropriate to do so and when it isn't. We teach our son that it is an "alone time" activity. So, if he's in his room or the bathroom that is the time when it is appropriate to take part in this activity. It is not a public activity. For us, we want our children to be "body positive" and to have a good self image and not feel bad or wrong about any parts of their bodies. As carang said, your son is exploring his body and this is a normal thing. If he's touching that area because he's itchy or something (due to heat rash) then we ask him and try to fix that problem (apply lotion, cream, medicine etc.) but otherwise if he does that in public we tell him not to do it.

I think it depends on how old your child is and how much he can understand. My son is in K2 but when he was a baby he used to slap and grab his penis--and there wasn't much we could do to prevent that from happening.

[carang]

forgot to say that we don't make a huge deal about it. i usually asked if he needed the toilet or something like that. at the time. if he did it in the bath, i never commented on it.

i don't want my kids to be ashamed of their bodies or think they are "dirty" but i do require hand washing for sanitary reasons.

[bagel]

Yes, I meant penis. Thank you for sharing your approaches. Helpful indeed to trade experiences!

[aprilO]

well my baby is only 7.5 months old, and he hold's his ding ding every time he is being bathed, but he does not play with it, just holds it........