Children, Privacy, and Masturbation

"A.Melon" wrote in message
news:2a9137e3fed3657b612588bfb57e600e@melontraffic kers.com...
I believe every article or book I have read that endorses childhood
masturbation recommends parents tell their children it is a normal
activity
one engages in when alone, it is an activity one does in "private." I can
understand why they recommend this but they overlook one major point,
young
children have no privacy. If you bathe, dress, wipe their nose and bottom,
and walk into their bedroom unannounced, how much privacy do children
have?
Is it then reasonable to expect them to understand the concept of privacy
or private? As a result, we send mixed signals to our children. Young
children will likely believe their parents really do not want them to
masturbate. If it is normal, why hide it? Why do their parents not want to
see them masturbating if it normal and everyone does it? If it really is
normal, parents need to treat it as such.

Children may consider what they do at home and with their parents and
siblings as private as well, as they are not in public. They may
masturbate
in the living room when no one is around but when someone walks in they
may
be accused of not doing it private. One young girl started to masturbate
in
front of her older sister. When her sister told her she should not do so,
her reply was that since they were both girls, it was okay. If you sleep,
bathe, dress, and use the bathroom together, why hide masturbation?
Children often have a different and more honest view of sex and
masturbation than do adults.

It is perhaps best to recommend children masturbate in their bedroom or
when they bathe versus telling them to do it in private. Set appropriate
times and places. If they do it at other times or places, do not scold
them, distract them with something else. If you have nothing better for
them to do, then it is perhaps best to leave them alone.

Parents should be as supportive of their child's sexual activities as
their
individual circumstances permit. Having witnessed several children explore
their genitals and masturbate in public with no harm being done to them or
those around them, parents may not need to be as concerned about the
possibility of this occurring as they may believe. If anyone does act
inappropriately in these situations, it is the adults, not the child.

"A.Melon" wrote in message
news:2a9137e3fed3657b612588bfb57e600e@melontraffic kers.com...
I believe every article or book I have read that endorses childhood
masturbation recommends parents tell their children it is a normal
activity
one engages in when alone, it is an activity one does in "private." I
can
understand why they recommend this but they overlook one major point,
young
children have no privacy. If you bathe, dress, wipe their nose and
bottom,
and walk into their bedroom unannounced, how much privacy do children
have?
Is it then reasonable to expect them to understand the concept of
privacy
or private? As a result, we send mixed signals to our children. Young
children will likely believe their parents really do not want them to
masturbate. If it is normal, why hide it? Why do their parents not want
to
see them masturbating if it normal and everyone does it? If it really is
normal, parents need to treat it as such.

Children may consider what they do at home and with their parents and
siblings as private as well, as they are not in public. They may
masturbate
in the living room when no one is around but when someone walks in they
may
be accused of not doing it private. One young girl started to masturbate
in
front of her older sister. When her sister told her she should not do
so,
her reply was that since they were both girls, it was okay. If you
sleep,
bathe, dress, and use the bathroom together, why hide masturbation?
Children often have a different and more honest view of sex and
masturbation than do adults.

It is perhaps best to recommend children masturbate in their bedroom or
when they bathe versus telling them to do it in private. Set appropriate
times and places. If they do it at other times or places, do not scold
them, distract them with something else. If you have nothing better for
them to do, then it is perhaps best to leave them alone.

Parents should be as supportive of their child's sexual activities as
their
individual circumstances permit. Having witnessed several children
explore
their genitals and masturbate in public with no harm being done to them
or
those around them, parents may not need to be as concerned about the
possibility of this occurring as they may believe. If anyone does act
inappropriately in these situations, it is the adults, not the child.