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Question:
there is a 5 yr old boy in my son's after school program. during quiet time (watch tv, story time, etc.) this boy lays on his stomach and proceeds to "hump" the carpet. is there a reason for this? is it normal? the parent spoke with me and says the boy does this at home when relaxing too.

Answer:
by Annette Owens:
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Thank you for contacting The Sexual Health Network with your concern. Children at that age often discover that touching or stimulation of their genitals feels good and maybe relaxes them. So yes, I would consider this boy’s behavior as normal. I would just leave him alone. If he openly mastubated in front of his peers it would be another situation. One of my colleagues, Larry Siegel recently answered a question regarding this and I encourage you to read his answer in order to have the information on normal sexual behavior of children. Please find the link to his answer on the right hand side of this page. There are many good books on normal sexual behavior of children available. The book The Mother’s Guide To Sex (see link on the side) has a very good section on how to deal with your children’s sexuality and a summary of what children should know about sex at different ages. Sincerely, Annette Owens, MD PhD

Reviewed by: Patricia Fawver Ph.D. in Sexology

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