I need help with 4 yr old DS....

[creekprincess]

DS will be 4 in just over a week. As of lately we have been noticing behaviors that I'm just not sure what to do or say.

I keep finding DS with his pants and undies around his ankles. ( I have told DS along time ago that if he needs to explore himself he should do it in the bedroom or bathroom....that it is a private thing. And to make sure he washes his hands....so he really prolly only did it a few times) Anyways I'm finding him like this all over the house 5, 6, maybe even 7 times a day. At night when we go to bed ( we have a family room but sleep in separate beds) we find he has fallen asleep with his pants/undies around his ankles.

Anyways I'm at a loss here....should I be doing something or saying something? Is this normal? ( I thought I should add that we have gone through a rough move recently where we had secured a place over the phone moved from NY to PA place was horrible....lived in a hotel for a week....moved into a tiny apt until we could find a bigger place and just last week have finally moved into our new place. to add to all that 3 days before moving we found out we were pregnant again.) Could the above have anything to do with this?

Thanks for any input/advise.

[Mama Mko]

The only thing I would do is direct him to his bedroom or a bathroom and tell him he needs to put his pants back in place in the living room/dining room/family areas. I wouldn't make a big deal out of it.

[pregnant@40]

1) Is there any possibility that he could have been sexually abused? I'm not asking b/c I believe this is the case, or that there is anything abnormal going on, but just wanted to make sure that you had considered this possibility.

2) Perhaps talk to your pediatrician about the issue, for maybe there is a potential of kids discovering masturbation early? Could this be related to the stress of the move lately?

If neither above is true, it's probably just a phase.

[reezley]

Maybe I'm missing something, but it doesn't sound alarming to me. My younger son is 3.5 and he often has a hand down his pants.... I gently remove it from there and tell him not to do it and I usually ask him to wash, but for now I see it as an age-appropriate mistake, not seeing himself through other people's eyes, etc. With your son he's actually pulling down everything... are his underwear and pants comfortable? Scratchy, too tight at all, tags? Have you asked him if he's comfortable in them? And I believe that sure, moving, a few times at that, is stressful, and little "habits" can be the way a kid expresses that. (I don't know how to fix those habits though, but my older son has gone through many of them - nailbiting, etc.)

[creekprincess]

Thanks for the replies. Things have calmed down with him not doing it so much...I am thinking it must have been all the moving and such.

DS is never away from me so I know nothing could have happened to him. He did just have a growth spurt and I have gotten him the next sized clothing. I have noticed that the tip of his penis is a bit red. I have put some stuff on it and if it does not go away I guess I'll find a doctor to take him to.

I did ask DS why he was doing it so much and he said "I'm just looking mom" so IDK.

again thanks for the replies