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3 year old son constantly has hand in pants...?

this is a recent development. he has been potty trained for 6+ months now, but for the past 3 weeks or so he walks around all day with his hands down his pants ( think Al Bundy from married...with children). My feeling is that he has discovered that he has a penis and that it feels good when he touches it, and that the phase will pass. We just gently tell him to get his hands out of his pants. Has anyone else had a little boy go through this? My 13 year old boy did not do this.

Update:

...actually, he has been in preschool since November. I have not heard anything about him doing it at school so far :)

10 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    Yeah this is normal. Don't make a big deal out of it, from everything I've read if you draw too much attention to it you can end up with a toddler who's constantly walking around playing with him (or even her) self.

    He's a little older, and should be able to understand. Tell him that you know it feels nice, and there's nothing wrong with it, but he can only do it in his bedroom and bathroom when there's no one else.

    Also, when you see him doing it, instead of drawing attention to it, distract him with another activity. Don't say a word about it, but grab is favorite toy or a ball or something and engage him in an activity that will require both his hands.

    They really do it for comfort (in addition to it feeling nice). Some boys will 'stroke' themselves to sleep like that. So the best you can do is to ignore it and distract him. If he doesn't understand when you explain, try again when he's a little older.

    My son is very attached to his penis... he's 18 months old, and way too young to understand what's going on, but I can already see a problem for us in the future - lol. So I did read up about this subject a lot.

  • 1 decade ago

    Yes, this is completely normal. My son still does this. He is now 4 1/2. I just tell him that it's not a toy and that is used for going potty. He immediately takes his hands out or off his penis. Another approach that works is when he holds it, I ask him if he has to go potty and if he doesn't, again, he immediately removes his hand. I think it is just something that is normal with all children. Don't be worried about it. I'm sure when he is at school he is so focused on doing other things he doesn't touch himself. That's probably why you don't hear about it. Same thing with my son if I take him to the park, playground, or any social engagement with other kids he doesn't do it.

    Hope this helps.

  • 5 years ago

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  • 1 decade ago

    This is a completely normal stage of development. Most children are intrigued by their own bodies at this age, and you're right he has probably discovered that it feels good when he touches himself. As the mother of 3 sons, this was/is a common sight around our house. My solution was to tell my son that it is okay for him to explore his own body, but that this is something that we do in private. Tell him he can go to his room when he wants to do this. Most likely he'll become engaged in some other actiivty and won't bother, but it will begin to make him aware of what is socially acceptable.

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  • Anonymous
    5 years ago

    Hand In Pants

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    My son who is now 5 touched his penis and pulled it out of his pants and stretched it to its max many times!! No matter how often i told him to leave it he always forgot himself and would be back in stretching when his mind was lost in something else like the telly. He would even pull it out to tell me he needed a pee. I ignored this habit until hjust before he started school last sept and i warned him that if he done this in school the teachers would send him home and he wouldnt have any friends!! Sounds mean but it worked!! He nvr touches his little parts now!! Let your son be for now but warn him before pre school or school that he just cant do it!! I hope it works!!

  • heral
    Lv 4
    5 years ago

    My son does a similar situation . definite its universal , some get greater beneficial than others even if that's universal. I asked the Dr to make advantageous each and every thing replaced into comfortable with him , he pronounced you may pick to rigidity if he wasnt getting them

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    3 year olds are very curious little beings. My daughter is also very intrigued with herself at this stage. I think we just have to pay as little attention to it as possible so that it doesn't become an issue.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    My son is going through this also, you don't want to draw too much attention to it. He is just curious.

  • 1 decade ago

    let him keep it there for upto 5 minutes or less he's just being himself

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