ROMANTIC AND SEXUAL FEELINGS BEFORE PUBERTY: IS IT WRONG TO PLAY DOCTOR? IS IT BAD FOR TWO LITTLE CHILDREN TO PLAY AROUND WITH EACH OTHER? IF IT’S NATURAL AND NORMAL, WHY DO PARENTS MAKE YOU STOP IF THEY CATCH YOU PLAYING DOCTOR?

Many, if not most, boys and girls engage in some form of sex play during childhood. Psychologists and sex experts agree that this is a perfectly normal and natural part of growing up and learning about sex. It doesn’t mean that there’s anything ‘wrong’ or ‘nasty’ about you if you’ve done these things.

However, bullying someone else or being bullied into doing something sexual by another child can be harmful. If you are bullied into doing something sexual by another child – or, for that matter, by anyone – it’s important that you talk this problem over with your parent or another grown-up you trust.

If it’s natural and normal, why do parents make you stop if they catch you playing doctor?

When parents discover their children playing doctor or other sex games, they usually make the children stop. Some parents even become angry or upset with their children if they find them playing sex games.

There may be any number of reasons why parents make children stop and/or get upset. For instance, some parents have religious values that lead them to feel that sex play in children is morally wrong or sinful. Some parents were caught doing the same thing when they were children and their parents stopped them or became angry with them. So they react in the same way their parents did. Moreover, some parents don’t realize that sex play is natural and normal, so they become upset by what they think is unnatural or abnormal behaviour.

Even parents who don’t have religious objections and who realize sex play is a natural part of growing up usually put a stop to it when they find children engaging in sex play. Part of the job of being a parent is to teach your children what kind of behaviour is considered proper, polite and socially acceptable. For instance, if someone didn’t tell them not to, many little children wouldn’t think twice about taking off their clothes and walking down the street naked. In our society it’s not considered proper or socially acceptable for people to go out in public nude, so parents usually teach their children to keep their clothes on. The same is true of sex play. In our society it is not considered proper or socially acceptable for children to take off their clothes and look at other people’s sex organs or to play doctor. So even though they don’t necessarily think playing sex games is sinful or nasty, parents usually stop this kind of thing because it isn’t considered socially acceptable or proper behaviour.

*125\95\2*

Share and Enjoy: