Scaring the child unnecessarily, or because YOU had a bad experience is not good parenting.
It will only keep the child from discussing important topics with you in the future.
Dont worry , ALL children start to explore there body's and find that genital touching gives plesure. I noticed both my sons and daughter started to "touch " themselvs at about 3 or 4 yrs old . When my eldest boy was about 12 I found a pair of my knickers hidden in his room and he had obviously been masterbating with them. I wasn't quite sure how to handle the situation but my friend who has 2 grown up sons told me she had the same thing years ago and advised me to buy some girls knickers for him to use and not to get a "mother" fixation relating to sex.That is what I did and even though he was red faced and embarased, I told him to go and get my knickers from his room, I then gave him the new ones to use as I told him it was ok to masterbate in private , and give me them to wash after, this is what he did for several yrs. all without further embarasment.
First of all, I was also sexually abused by a family member. My cousin 10 years younger was also abused by him. I saw her masterbating at age three and mentioned to my mother that I thought maybe she was being abused and my mom didn't say anything to her mom. When she was in her 20s and I in my 30s asked me if I were abused, I was shocked to learn that she was also abused. My bmother was abused at age 8 by a family member and at that time, she started masterbating. My cousin and I both masterbated at a young age. I have done a ton of research and 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 5 boys have been sexually abused so it is very very common. I am still not a huge believer that children discover this on their own and do believe that someone has touched these children to have them aware that it feels good to pleasure themselves. Have your child examined by a doctor and document any odd behaviors as well as ask your child "what are you doing"? For example, my 2 year old when asked this when she stuck her hands down her diapers said "tickle". Then surprised she had a name for it I asked "who does that"? Not thinking I would get an answer said "daddy". Then in the morning, she did this again, I decided to ask her "where does daddy tickle you" and she put her hands all the way down her diapers. So....that being said, my daughter did not lift up her shirt, point to her arm pits etc...she put her hands down her pants. I continued to document and there is more but will not share with this group. While I did read many posts and am not sure if these posters are moms, dads, grandparents etc....sexual abuse does happen, it's real, horrible and will affect your children in a negative way if you do not always make them feel that they can tell you anything. You need to read good touch bad touch books to your children and always know that child sexual abuse can happen within your circle of friends and family members. For those of you concerned about your child's behavior, seek a doctor's advice as there are many people posting things on sites like this and they may be pediphiles themselves. Trust your insticts and protect your children as they can not do it without your help.
I think some parents here are missing something. I had a similar problem with my young daughter sometime ago. I didn't buy the masturbating idea, so I took her to the doctor.
As it turned out, she had pin worms - a very common infection in children. Due to the general differences between boys and girls, girls are often more subject to irritation in the vaginal area.
Eliminate that possibility first, before you get too concerned.
Single dad.
Hii,
I can understand your situation, sexual education is always must
Regards
Charlie
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http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/masturb.htm
Everyone that has commented on here needs to read the above article. It explains what is within normal limits for a child and when exactly to be concerned. I am the mother of a seven year-old daughter who masturbates and it is my job to teach her that it's inappropriate to do it in public or in front of others but never scold a child for this behavior or you will only end up with a child who responds poorly to posts like these (like all the other crazy's!).
+ Mother and a Nurse
I am a 31 year woman and I have memories of doing this since age 3 not knowing that it was sexual, and it really wasn't until I was 11 or 12 that i even found out what real sexual intercourse actually is. I simply knew it felt good and I eventually came to a point of sort of climax and knew it was over. I was never abused or molested in any way. I was an only child spoiled to pieces by the best parents I could've wished for. I was also caught a few times at home mostly, but at pre-school also one day the teacher told me at nap time I had to sleep with my hands under my head. I knew exactly why she said that. I knew it was a secret and got better and better at hiding it as I got older. I never stopped and I thought I was the the only one in the world who had this dirty little secret that I would never never tell anyone. It wasn't until later at about 13 that I put togehter that what I had been doing all this time is masterbation and AT LAST I was normal!!! I had heard everyone did this and I wasn't crazy or dirty. It would have been extremely embarrassing if I were confronted with being caught once I was 4 and older, so much so that could be damaging. I don't think you should worry about it at all or tell her it is wrong. Telling her it is wrong might make her feel more like there is something wrong with her. Just be sure she knows it is a secret; that we don't "act silly" as my mother said go to your room. She'll get the idea. Don't make a big deal of it. It doesn't mean she's being harmed or touched or even knows about the birds and the bees. She knows this spot feels good. That's all.