My 4 year old likes to play with himself whenever he is bored. Should I be concerned?

Question

At first it was mainly at home when no one is looking, but now it happens if I am driving somewhere. Is this just a phase? How can I explain to him that there is a time and a place for that kind of behavior.

Answer 1

4 years old is old enough to understand that some things are "private" things that we should only do when no one is around... don't make him feel ashamed.... tell him that everybody does it but and it is okay to do it... but it is impolite to do it around other people...  compare it to going to the potty for a pee-pee or pooh pooh...  you only do that in the privacy of the bathroom when no one else is watching... It is also a good time to talk to him about the difference between "good" touching and "bad" touching by others... never too early to start to teach him about strangers and things of that nature

Answer 2

A lot of young children do that when they are young. To us we see it as a s*x thing, but to them they see it as part of the body that they don't see others with so sometimes they play with it to see what it is.

He is old enough to know right from wrong, so one just talk to him softly and tell him that what he is doing is not really wrong but that it is something that you should not do and if he feels that he must do that tell him to play with a toy. Why I say not really wrong because you don't want him to feel that he really did something bad when he is just wondering about his body

Answer 3

No, I don't think that you should.  My 5 year old sister does the same thing, and we talked to her doctor about it and they said that she is in her, "Discovery Phase"

Answer 4

It is completly normal for young children to be curious about that lower region, if you know what I mean. I have a 5-year old cousin who constantly touches herself in that area. I always have to tell her "No Kloe. Little girls don't do that. It's nasty." Now, you've got a boy. And that is understandable. If he thinks that playing with his wee-wee is ok, then he should do it in a room where he has privacy. If you'd like, click on this link below. It shoul answer all of your questions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_sexua...

Answer 5

lol I bet Daddy does the same when he's bored too!

Don't be too concerned. Just let him know that it's okay to be curious but like you said, it's probably not a nice thing to do when there are 'ladies' around or something similar. Try not to be too serious  because he'll think he's doing something wrong.

Answer 6

check out this article:

http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,62...