What shoud I do about this?

Question

There are no regulations about this and the staff seem to each deal with it differently. I work in a daycare for my summer job (im a college student) and I was wondering: A few of the kids touch themselves during nap time. some staff let them and others dont. What am i supposed to do? I know that masturbation is normal and healthy but they are like 2 years old.

Answer 1

It is normal, both of my kids did it when they were tired. It's a very touchy, no pun intended, situation. You may consider asking the parents of the children with the wandering hands how they would like this situation addressed, I'm sure they already know about it. I would have prefered someone asking me about it before doing anything. I don't think it bothers the other children but it does seem to make adults uncomfortable.

Answer 2

If the kids are awake during naptime but they are staying still, I would give them a book. My grandmother told me to do this and she had 14 children. It seems to work for my son and then he eventually falls asleep. I agree that you don't want to make them feel weird about their bodies, but distraction works best.

Answer 3

I think they're still in a process of self-discovery.  I wouldn't interfere with that -- it's part of their growth and development.  If in doubt, speak to someone in authority (your boss) who can give you the real low-down on whether it should be allowed or prohibited, but yes, it may be something you'd feel comfortable avoiding, and that's totally fine.

Answer 4

At this age it is not masturbation. They are just exploring. They are too young to realize it is not a proper thing to do. You could just gently pull their arm away, or ignore it all together.

Answer 5

Thats a good question, most of the answers above are good too. As they are only 2 I would probably ignore it if it is only for a moment or so. If it is interfering with them getting rest or attracting the attention of other kids and preventing them from rest then I might gently move their hands away and say it is sleep time now.

If there is a particular child that seems to become so fascinated with the activity that it is all they ever do, then I would probably gently tell them that that kind of touching is for home in their room and not for school, and if they are restless give them something else for their hands like a quiet toy they can have during nap time.

Answer 6

Well, it depends on how they're touching themselves. If it's just a rub and over soon, leave them alone. I would say that at 2 if a kid is preoccupied with their genitals, there may be 'issues', but I may be paranoid. In my experience kids don't usually get sexual until 3 and then not again until adolescence. Usually I would tell my kids to go do that in their rooms, it's a private thing, no one wants to watch, but 2 is kind of young. Are they getting right into it? That would send off warning bells for me. Or do they just have some irritation? I think you should discuss it with your colleagues and have a policy on the matter.