when does it separate? 5yo DS's still hasn't

[MommyHawk]

I'm not sure how to say it, but when does the tip of the penis come out of the foreskin? I have a 5yo son and I'm not sure his has separated. Do we instruct him to do it and see what happens now? or just let him do it on his own time. He's never had any issues with eliminating or any redness, so that's why I haven't even thought about it until just now, when DH asked DS about it.

[Fellow Traveler]

Anytime between birth and mid puberty is normal, sorry if that doesn't really help. You can read a bit about it here: http://www.cirp.org/library/normal/

I don't think it's absolutely necessary but you could mention it to your son when he is in the bath and if he can do it that's fine if not that's fine too. If nothing else it will make him aware of it and will start the habit. But don't say it in such a way that he thinks he has too. If that makes sense. That's about how it was with me anyway.

[pigpokey]

Just incorporate it into the sex talk, no reason to rush it. Definitely before puberty.

[MommyHawk]

for some reason I thought it was 3yo, but since he never had issues I totally got sidetracked with everything else...THANK YOU for the quick responses...wow, puberty...yeah, I'll wait a bit longer for that!

[perspective]

Originally Posted by MommyHawk

for some reason I thought it was 3yo, but since he never had issues I totally got sidetracked with everything else...THANK YOU for the quick responses...wow, puberty...yeah, I'll wait a bit longer for that!

Hey, I am a younger guy who pops in here now and again since this is an issue which is important to me. I can tell you from the teen boards that I am from that its not that uncommon at all for guys, even in puberty to be unable to fully retract yet.

Also just to give you some vocab, and because you really should know some basic information about your son's body, here is some information. The skin thing is called a foreskin. When a baby boy is born the foreskin is fused to the head of the penis at a cellular level. As a boy gets older this "bond" separates, and is due to a number of factors including the natural manipulation of the foreskin by the boy over time. Because of all these factors there is no "average" and some boys can retract as as 1 or 2 years old, but also not be able to retract by puberty or even later.
As long as the boy cannot retract, that means the area is sealed off and there is no need to clean under it. Once he can retract, all the cleaning he needs to do is swish some water under there, no heavy scrubbing with soap. (compare it to how you would clean your inner genital areas)

Actually the only thing you really need to worry about is having someone try to force back his foreskin before its ready. Because beyond the obvious damage of ripping his genitals apart, it can cause infections, and other foreskin issues.

Here is a wiki link on the foreskin (*CAUTION- Real pictures of penises ahead):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreskin#Langerhans_cells

Does anyone have any other good links to provide?

[MommyHawk]

Originally Posted by perspective

(*CAUTION- Real pictures of penises ahead)

sounds like a bumper sticker!

Thanks for the link, sent it to DH

[perspective]

Originally Posted by MommyHawk

sounds like a bumper sticker!

Thanks for the link, sent it to DH

haha, awesome. If you ever have any concerns, come back, were here to help!

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

A helpful thread here on what might happen during retraction and help to decide if it is normal or something else is going on. http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=764732