Questioner: Heather
I have a 3 year old son and recently he has become a little obsessed with his penis. He pulls his pants down and plays with it and last night he was rubbing his puppy on it. Is this normal??? I am a little freaked out by it and don’t know what to say to him about it, if anything
Dear Heather,
Okay here is the thing…if he were obsessed with his ear would you be freaked out? I don’t think this is about him.
He is 3 he doesn’t really know what a penis is for yet! He just knows he touches his penis and it feels good. Just like touching any other part of his body makes him feel good except the penis tends to be a little more sensitive than some part of his body say like his knee.
What needs to happen here is to find out why you are “freaked out by it.”
I strongly suggest getting some books that are developmentally age appropriate and reading them to him. They have great books for children this age about their body parts. Then RELAX!
If you don’t relax he may play with it just to get this funny reaction from his mother. Small children love to push their parents buttons because they don’t understand why we react like we do but it is quite entertaining to them to see us “freak out!”
Best Wishes!
M Kay Keller
