DS has been retracting his penis since he was 2

[Elizabeth2008]

I'm confused because I read things that say most boys can't retract their penis until puberty and that all boys DS's age have non-retractable penises. Is this universally true? DS has been pulling his foreskin back quite significantly from his penis since he was 2 years old! At least far enough to reveal the entire glans. Once when he was around a year I had pulled the foreskin back in the bath (had been given bad advice that I needed to clean him at that age). It hurt him, and i pulled it back down. I hope that I didn't do some damage to him or forcibly separate the foreskin??! I felt so terrible after I did that. He doesn't seem to have any problems now except sometimes he'll wake up in the morning with his wet pull-up on and his foreskin will be pulled back and he says it hurts. He then will pull the foreskin back down and assures me that it doesn't hurt anymore once he does that. Should I be worried that that one time I retracted him might have caused some damage? Do some other boys his age have rectractable penises? And now that he is able to retract it, what if anything should I be telling him about cleaning that area?

[eepster]

There is a very wide range of normal for age of retractability. Usually after a single episode of forcible retraction the foreskin heals back to non-retractable, so it is likely that your DS just is an early bloomer. My DS hs been at least partially retractable since he was 3 yo, and no one ever retracted him.

It's perfectly normal for the glans to be extremely sensitive, that's why the foreskin is there, to protect it.

[intactDS]

I was retractable from an early age, even though my older brother was not until at least 8 (when my parents were laughed out of a surgeon's office for being concerned about his sphincter). The point is that every kid is different, and the important thing is that they be the ones to mess with it and figure out when it's time to try retracting.

Because I was born in the 80's, there's a chance that my early retractability was due to the situation that happened here, ie someone else retracted and I didn't re-adhere. I think it could have also been because I once got it caught in the zipper of a onesie pajamas. The point is that it happened fairly early on for me, early enough that I never really remember a time where I couldn't. And I'm fine. If it kept re-adhering and it kept being torn there might be an issue with scarring, but just once, even if it is traumatic, isn't necessarily gonna cause any lasting effects.

[Night_Nurse]

Two certainly isn't unheard of. My youngest has been fully retractable since about two and a half to three years. He was never retracted by anyone so it was completely natural for him.
Some boys are fully retractable in toddlerhood, others not until late teens/young adult. There is a wide range and it's all normal.
If your son wants to retract and rinse it in the tub it's fine but I don't think it's necessary. I'm sure it gets clean enough during each bath.Of course, once he hits pre-puberty/puberty and the hormones kick in he'll probably want to retract, rinse and replace the foreskin during each shower. Some people can only tolerate plain water because soap can be irritating. Others use a mild soap on the genitals without incident.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

It appears that between the ages of 2-3 is when a lot of boys can retract while for the majority according to the study I read they are not retractable until 10.5 Bottom line is when it happens for your ds that was the age it was supposed to happen Just like when a girl gets her first period or grows breasts that is when it was supposed to happen.