School-Aged Children

My 5yo son has gotten curious...

About the difference between boys and girls. To the point where he has pulled down the shorts of 2 girls. His father and I have sat him down and talked to him about how that is inappropriate and I got a book from the library that's meant for preschoolers but very very descriptive, and he's seemed to be satisfied with that for now, I was wondering if anyone else has gone through this?
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Re: My 5yo son has gotten curious...

  • I think the curiousity is very natural but I haven't dealt with the level of curiousity that you are. I believe you're doing exactly what I would do if I were in your shoes. When my son was that age he used to touch my boobs all the time. It made me uncomfortable and I explained this to him. I told him that those are not to be touched, that's one of Mommy's no-no spots.

    I brought up no-no spots and what he's supposed to do if someone touches his no-no spots. Trying redirect the conversation from him focusing on my body parts to his own. Does that make sense? I'm not sure if I explained it properly.

  • This is developmentally normal for kids his age, if he's an only child or has never really been taught about this.  You did the right thing by satisfying his curiosity in an age-appropriate way and letting him know that it's okay to be curious, but not okay to touch someone else's parts (or let someone touch his.)  I'd keep a discreet eye on him, though, to make sure that his curiosity has been satisfied and that he "gets it" that he can't touch others' private parts.

    I have a son and a daughter, which has made this a no-big-deal thing in our house. While we want everyone to have privacy, we don't make a big deal about nudity either.  They've had plenty of chances to see what boy and girl bodies look like while we're getting ready for the pool, drying off after showers, getting dressed on camping trips, etc. 

    High School English teacher and mom of 2 kids:

    DD, born 9/06/00 -- 12th grade
    DS, born 8/25/04 -- 7th grade
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  • I think the curiosity sounds normal, but pulling down girls shorts sounds a bit out there.

    DD was very curious about DS when he was born. We told her proper names for all the parts. A million diaper changes later, she's very matter-of-fact, boy privates and girl privates look different.

     

    - Jena
    image
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