Is it normal for children to masturbate?

Question

is there an age that is "too young?"

Leavesbound · Accepted Answer

My Mom caught me doing that at age 7. She went ballistic and made me memorize and recite bible verses every day for several years after that. I felt a deep sense of guilt and shame for several years after.

It is in fact quite normal and quite common. Children will explore their body no matter what. Children have been known to masturbate as young as two. But most young children have no sexual reference point and so don't realize or even grasp that it has anything to do with sex. I would not say that "too young" really applies in the sense that they should be restricted from doing so. One can cause a lot of mental trauma by shaming or restricting a child's access to their own body. I would simply advise that children be educated to not do so in front of other people until they are old enough to be sexually intimate with other people. A friend of mine's five year old son used to masturbate while watching TV and she had to explain to him that activity should be done in a bedroom or bathroom with the door closed. She did not tell him he should not do it at all. She confessed to me that she used to sit on the drier in her Mom's laundry room when she was around that age and enjoyed orgasms from the vibration which she considered doing so a form of masturbation. Most people masturbate some time around the beginning of puberty but it can happen at any age. Be cautious though because sometimes very early masturbation can result from some forms of sexual abuse.

TheorionMage · Accepted Answer

A child regardless of gender, spends their EARLIEST years FIRST discovering their body... BEFORE society fills their minds with Mysoginistic guilt-ridden BULLSHIT, there is but 'Ouch!' and "THAT feels GOOD!' ... not unlike kittens.

In some Affrikans tribes, its common for mothers to soothe their fussing babies with ORAL stimulation. Our Pagan families instead 'teach' that there are certain pleasurable touching that One reserves for their privacy or extraordinary discovery like sitting on or leaning against an unbalanced washing machine or a horse using a 'sit trot' gait. So, 'Yes' it IS 'normal' but hypocritically societally-disapproved of.

loves2learn · Accepted Answer

Very normal. There is no age that is too young. Sexual organs are designed to be pleasurable the moment they are formed. Little kids (like myself) will often find them and rub them because it feels good. Not for any sexual reason. I started when I was 2 but I didn’t make the connection it was a sexual thing until I was 8. And I didn’t know what I was experiencing was an orgasm until I was 13.

Dazed0N0Confused · Accepted Answer

I think there is an age that is too young to have sex, but not to masturbate & explore your own body. Once puberty hits, all bets are off. But dudes play with their penises from, basically, birth because they can see it & it flops about. I wouldn't be concerned about it until there is another person involved.

BigPunny · Answer

It is completely healthy and normal for a child of any age to masturbate. Babies are known to masturbate.

The only time masturbation becomes a problem is if it begins to interfere with normal, every day activities. If one finds themselves foregoing family functions, or outings with friends, just so they can stay home and masturbate, it could be a problem. If it interferes with one's job, it could be a problem.

But masturbating is a way for people to relieve tension, release stress, and do something for themselves that feels good and is safe.

If a parent comes across their young child and that child is masturbating in public, the action itself should not be shamed, but the child must understand that we do not do that in public or in front of people who do not want to see it.

But the act itself is perfectly fine and is encouraged by doctors, even.

Emii_Urashima · Answer

It is normal and completely harmless as long as it is their idea. I live in a society that has a very sexualized media, so we learn about sex much earlier than western cultures. Our parents don't freak out and make us recite bible verses while telling us we are going to be tortured by fire for an eternity just for masterbating. I consider that to be child abuse and it actually can cause children to grow up to be future rapists and perverts. Our parents generally will give us privacy and in my case, my mother explained things to me and told me it was natural. So my little mind didn't get warped and traumatized like those poor kids with close-minded, prudish parents. I could continue exploring myself whenever I wanted without feeling like I was doing something bad.

PBandJ_Nerd · Answer

It's normal for children to explore their bodies. For them it's not sexual and they don't know what it is. All they know is it feels good so they do it.

myname604 · Answer

Yes it is normal but for this reason it is important to protect your child from predators such as public schools who try to sexualize your children to groom them into a deviant sexual perverted society.
Predators know these things about children and have created a scientific and academic industry surrounding this knowledge for the purpose of making more available to the evil pedophile sex industry.

HugoThe2nd · Answer

The first time I masturbated, I didn't even know what masturbation was, I thought I peed myself but I was too young so I didn't have any ejaculate at that point.
I was simply doing something that felt good to me physically.

Masturbation is completely normal, humans have natural urges that will eventually guide them to reproduction.
So they probably start exploring these aspects of their physiology as it develops.

ChrisMaster69 · Answer

It’s a hard bit to work out when actual touching becomes specific masturbation.

most kids do the touch themselves thing, I know I got in trouble when growing up for having hands down pants at 5,6 etc.

It’s sort of innocent, you find a bit to touch and keep going back to it.

for likely 10 and over it’s normal and simply something nearly everyone does by the time they are 14.

Red_Arrow · Answer

I suggest using your own experience as a guide for how to deal with your kids doing it. They can discover it feels good at any age, so it is fine that your 6year old is doing it. But just as your mother taught you, let your daughter know that it is private and she should do it in her room, not in front of people. Make sure she understand that she can come to you with any questions. And allow her to enjoy it in her privacy.

ohshee · Answer

Started at 12 and a half I think we all are going to do it when we want to experience it I guess

Astarlessnightsky · Answer

Yes, totally normal. Once they hit puberty all people will discover that their genitals are not only used for peeing.

Maxine_C · Answer

I'd say 14 and younger is too young

Alyssa11 · Answer

Ok please nobody judge me but I masturbated as a child... as young as 5 years old. Is this normal? I don't know I used to get horny as a child...

Adam1978 · Answer

It's normal for them to touch their gender especially boys, but actually masturbate usually aren't common until puberty.

The_Maphio · Answer

The moment in which a small child finds out that touching certain body parts is pleasant, that's when they discover masturbation. It's a natural occurrence, nothing to be alarmed by.

RJJ33666 · Answer

Its pretty normal for children to masturbate, they are growing and so their hormones tend to go out of control. Especially, during puberty, they have a sudden urge of sexual energy. Its very normal. Now if you are asking about what age would be too young, then I would say if a child starts before the year of 11 to 12, then it might be a bit young. But that would probably happen if they are more mature at such an age or are accidentally exposed to sexual content.

ShadesOfPale86 · Answer

No age is too young. I stated here in an earlier post that I was having full orgasms at age 5... my mom would "catch" me and call me a dirty pig and spank me and that messed me up way worse than the fact that I liked to play my "privates" until I came

slatyb · Answer

Completely 100% normal, and there is no age that is too young. If they are doing it in an inappropriate place, simply tell them "We don't do that in public".