Is this odd?

[DocsNemesis]

I know I posted this to the other thread, but now its bugging me. My friend has twin boys that are circ'd, but they NEVER play with themselves. They are almost a year old. They never reach down there when she changes their diapers and she has never seen them get an erection. Niether one of them. I am over there a LOT and I have never seen them get one either nor reach down there. She said it surprises her because I had told her how little boys do that, and I know she isnt prudeish or something-she doesnt care if they do it, so I doubt they have been conditioned not to.
It does kind of make me wonder if it could have anything at all to do with their circ's. I know they werent given anesthesia (the mom was lied to and told they recieved oral anesthesia)...is it possible they dont want to touch down there because of the pain that they had before? I dont know! It could be something totally unrelated, but it just seems so wierd to me that they dont play with themselves OR get erections. Of course, I am basing this purely off of my own son who has always thought his penis is a great toy

[susienjay]

I don't really see a connection. My son never ever grabbed down there when I was changing him until he was almost 2. He's intact. He just never seemed interested. He occasionally grabs himself now during a diaper change but it's probably only 1-2 times a day at most. I rarely noticed erections before he discovered that area. Usually the only time I would see one was the first diaper change in the morning. If I waited to change him I didn't see one. I did notice erections as a newborn but then newborns go through a lot of diapers so he was getting changed a lot more often.

[+stella+]

I wonder about this sometimes but not in the way you mentioned. See, my son will turn 2 next week and he doesnt do anything with his either, and hes intact and never been retracted or had any problem. I know when I was at his age I did what people would consider "exploring my parts and sensations" but he shows no interest at all. I always thought it was odd he doesnt seem to care to play with "his" but I think its another situation where

"all kids are different".

I wouldnt really make the connection.

[cam&kat's_mom]

I highly doubt it's connected. My Ds who is almost 4 is circ (i regret it but it's still done ) and he always had hsi hands down there and has several erections (It seems strange to be talking about a child and their erections! ) ANyway. from what i have seen in both circ and intact children. it varies from child to child and I really dont' think there is a correlation.

[DocsNemesis]

Ok! Maybe they will discover their parts as they get older At least I can tell her that they are being normal in their own way and not to worry.

[TigerTail]

But one anecdote does not a conclusion make. People react differently to ptsd & stress & one person may fondle a body part incessantly as a reaction while one fears to touch it at all. Look at how people react to bfing after sexual abuse. After my rape I still can't imagine not bfing; some people it makes their flesh crawl off their bodies to contemplate.

The fact that newborn pain studies had to be stopped because the researchers found it too unethical for the control babies (says a lot right there) means that conclusive results may never be had, but we do know a bit about responses to pain & trauma from other studies & can extrapolate somewhat...

I'd be interested if there were instances of penile avoidance in intact babies (that were never retracted, had infections, etc.). eta: Stella, I saw your post after I wrote this.

[mama_at_home]

I suppose it could be personality but it could also be the pain. My intact 8 month old started playing with and grabbing his penis almost from birth. He yanks very aggressively on it and smiles and laughs. His circ'ed older brother cried frequently when his diaper was changed and didn't start playing with his till he was much older. Now that he is 3 he plays with it all the time but I think for at least the first 6 months of his life it was pretty painful. When you know better, you do better!

[+stella+]

I think there is a difference between apathy and avoidance. I would definitely call my sons relationship with his penis "apathy" rather than avoidance.

i hope that makes some sense

[hunnybumm]

I think it just depends on the kid. DS#1 is circ and once he 'discovered' his penis he would try and grab at it at every diaper change. Now that he is almost 3 he plays with it when his diaper is off, and even reaches in the diaper to play with it. He has erections constantly, every diaper change during the night/first thing when he wakes up (nap or morning). Of course when he plays with himself he gets an erection, or if I am trying to clean off some poopy sometimes he does then too.

DS#2 (9 months) is intact and hasn't seemed to discover his penis yet. A few weeks ago at a diaper change I put his hand down there and he just squeezed, then lost interest. I don't think I have ever seen an erection, if so I just didn't notice.

So from my personal experience it is the opposite of the OP.

[Stevie]

My ODS had erections in the hospital nursery before his circ and at home after his circ. I can't remember much else of his baby time except that he peed on me all the time

YDS did not have an erection till the past 6 months, never ever peed on me, but was playing with his penis since he was a few months old.

A friend's DS is 3.5, circ'd and grabs his penis through his pants constantly. No kidding; any full body picture of him shows him grabbing his crotch. Seems a bit excessive to me, but I don't know...