FREAKING OUT OVER SONS ODD BEHAVIOR

[i syrxo i]

so my 3 year old son has become aware of his "manhood" he frequently feels the need to hold it in his hand. hell run out the bathroom and go.. "see my pepe?" or hell be watching tv and ill notice hell randomly put his hands in his pants and just hold it.ive heard alot of boys go threw this stage so at first i wasnt to alarmed, but now i find out that hes constantly trying to smack his aunts a** who is 15, and his uncles a** who is 10. hes also reaching for theyre private areas, this is alarming, and extremely inappropriate behavior. ive spoken to him already about how its not okay to touch anyone elses privates, and that no one is allowed to touch his unless its mommy or daddy helping him wash it. ive also asked him if anyone ever has touched him there befor, because lets face it.. 3 year olds dont just kno about those things, they learn it by seeing it. or in some cases sadly by experiencing it. he repeatedly told me no he hasnt been touched. dose anyone have any tips on how to break this behavior? i dont want this to get out of control. my son is in headstart. the last thing i want or need is for him to do this at school. that would create a hole lot of trouble.  

[MommiiDearest]

My son is only two, but he has 'found himself', though it isn't to the degree I think you are experiencing.
He also will run around and smack peoples butts [but I know that is due to my family thinking they are funny and smacking each others and cracking up when he repeats the action]
I have been told, however, that when it becomes more than a 'stage' and simple talking is not working, one will need to begin putting into time outs[or you're punishment of choice].
It is a hard thing because on one hand you don't want your child to conciser their parts 'bad or dirty' and on the other hand you want them to understand that their behavior is inappropriate, and it is a very fine line.
Good luck though, perhaps read up on tips online or even talk to his doctor?

 

[Caimbrie]

Sadly, I am not in this position of the child or parents (as I found out about 'privates' by being sexually abused, thankfully I didn't get raped from that, although I almost did) so it's really hard for me to understand, especially as I am the opposite gender.

But, it does seem your child is going through sexual stages, of course it's alarming because you do not want him to put another child, like me through something of the such, or even worse. Sadly, if you experience it early, it could possibly show signs of "sex addiction", from what I've been told. Although I am unaware of this so, I would recommend an appropriate punishment to prevent this.  

[JohJohTheMahdern]

It's never too early to teach a child of any gender about consent, so I agree that time outs or other age-appropriate punishments would probably be best, as you tell him that he is being disciplined for not respecting people's personal spaces.

Meanwhile it might be a good idea to see if he is being influenced by anything, be it TV or another person, so you can try to stop the butt smacking at its source.  

[Pocket Trash]

"Some people are okay,

This is rather normal for children in their toddler years. They will usually break the habit on their own, though explaining when and why something is appropriate/not appropriate is important to help break the habit sooner.

but mostly I just feel like poisoning everybody."