10yo, never has erections... ?

[dynamicdoula]

My son is 10 and even as a baby he rarely ever had erections. His brother is 6 and has 'noticed' his own erections, we had a little talk about why his pants looked like a tent and why he couldn't push it back down. I mentioned that it's an erection, something his body is meant to do, normal, not a big deal. My 10yo was given a book about puberty which discussed erections so he was familiar with the term, and said, "I've never had one of those." Well that worried me a bit!!! I also know I've seen my 6yo with plenty of them and I can't remember ever seeing my older son with one (even as a toddler), only like maybe 3x as a baby.

Should I be concerned...? When I mentioned it to DH he definitely raised an eyebrow and thought we should talk to his doctor.

[HeidiAnn67]

I agree with your dh. If he's never having erections you should discuss it with the dr, it doesn't sound "normal". That being said, are you sure he never does. I know when my boys became older they certainly wouldn't discuss them with me . But if it's true, it sounds like there could be a medical issue here.

[wantingagirl2b#4]

Same thing happening over here. My son is now 9 yrs old but about 2 yrs ago I was concerned because I have 4 boys and he is the only one not really ever having erections that I had noticed. Dr. was not much help as all he did was look at his package and say he is fine everything looks good.: Well I could do that myself. I knew it looked normal in it's overall appearance.
Our son was on heart medication (hence beta blocker--blocks blood flow) and we just figured it must be the meds but now almost 2 yrs. later still no erections noticed.: I hope everything is okay. Anybody else have any insight on this?

[SJane01]

DS is 14 now and just entering puberty, but he was finally diagnosed with a thyroid condition. He was lacking significant growth hormones due to his issues, and when we had him for his checkup before he turned 12, his doctor talked with him and he could get erections, but he said that they never really happened, and he could only ever remember having 2-3 in his life.

The good news is that after being seen for his problems, he's now on the road to becoming a normal teen. He's about 3 years behind the 50th percentile at the moment. 14 and 3 months, just entering puberty. No pubic hair development yet, but he's got the correct amounts of hormones and he's seen small changes in the body parts.

If your concerned, and you have a reason to be -- see a doctor.

[cmhotzler]

My Ds is 9 1/2 years old. I have seen him have an erection once-when he was about 4. I think he is normal. Doctor thinks he is normal. He is also uncirc. which might be the reason. His foreskin has only recently become to the point of retracting, but it is still a bit "uncomfortable" for him to do (opening not stretched out enough). Of course talk to the doctor if it is bothering you, but most likely it is normal for him...

[Shann]

I think your right to be concerned. I have 2 boys (now 14 and 12) and they both have been having erections since they were babies. I have a cousin who has 3 boys and her middle boy had never had one by age 9. The doctor said that it definitely was not normal for a boy not to have had one by then. They did some tests (no idea what kind--sorry) and found that he had some sort of hormone and vitamin deficiency. So, yeah, i would for sure get him to the doctor, because I don't think things are the way they should be.

[wantingagirl2b#4]

Vitamin deficiency?? That's interesting. Any thoughts or ideas on this? Iwas thinking about having a hair analysis done on him. We are just finding out so much about him. We just got 3 diagnosis over the summer so it's been chaotic here. We are trying to find out why he has monocular diplopia and was wondering if this is linked to any of the other diag. of SPD and APD and the monocular diplopia. Any thoughts?

[Rockies5]

wow! are we supposed to just know this (whether or not they have erections?) ?! I have no clue about any but the kids who still need help n the bathroom!

wouldn't it be weird to ask?

[SJane01]

Originally Posted by Rockies5

wow! are we supposed to just know this (whether or not they have erections?) ?! I have no clue about any but the kids who still need help n the bathroom!

wouldn't it be weird to ask?

I think most parents see their kids undressed up until and through puberty. It happens every once in a while that we see erections. The OP was asking because the ds was given a book about puberty and made a comment on it.

[aniT]

I have three girls. My son is 10 months old. I saw this thread and though.... HUH? He is only 10 he shouldn't be having erections. Ermm OK guess I was wrong. Nice info to have for the future though.

Oh and ftr. Most parents do not see their kids/girls undressed through puberty. My 8 year old is even starting to get more private about being undressed as well.

[uzra_hashmi@rediff]

It is indeed unusual for a boy of 10 not to have erections. may be you did not notice when he had them. While the boys might have erections even before the age of five due to physiological reasons, on our side it is believed that around the age of 5 many og them become sexually conscious. Most of the boys I believe start masturbating around the age of 7-8 and are capable of having sex around 9 or 10. You may like to see a doctor regarding the condition of your DS.
Uzra

[SJane01]

Originally Posted by aniT

Oh and ftr. Most parents do not see their kids/girls undressed through puberty. My 8 year old is even starting to get more private about being undressed as well.

Considering that at least 3 local pediatric clinics here require parental presence in the exam room for yearly physical/ check ups until the kids are 16.. Its very common here.

[orangefoot]

Originally Posted by SJane01

I think most parents see their kids undressed up until and through puberty. It happens every once in a while that we see erections.

My sons are 10 and 14. We are not a prudish family: dh and I am comfortable naked but at they moment they are not so no I haven't seen them naked or erect nor have I checked that they are having erections.

Out of interest, are the mothers of daughters checking the correct functioning of their erectile tissues too?

[Bekka]

Female erectile tissue

I haven't exactly "checked", but all 3 of my daughters have moments when I can tell they are doing something that "feels good" and I expect that's probably sufficient! My youngest is 14 mos. old. She does too.

[onelilguysmommy]

Originally Posted by uzra_hashmi@rediff

It is indeed unusual for a boy of 10 not to have erections. may be you did not notice when he had them. While the boys might have erections even before the age of five due to physiological reasons, on our side it is believed that around the age of 5 many og them become sexually conscious. Most of the boys I believe start masturbating around the age of 7-8 and are capable of having sex around 9 or 10. You may like to see a doctor regarding the condition of your DS.
Uzra

yeah theyre supposed to from birth...dont know if all do it but at least some boys have them while their mom is pregnant with them even.

if your son never has them at all, id be worried, too! : i dont know what kind of person to ask for possible tests, however.

[wantingagirl2b#4]

I took my son to the dr. yet again.... She said most worry the other way around because it is painful for little boys. She said she could refer me to the urologist but we have already been but I will be searching for a different on. I had his thyroid checked and diabetes and both were okay. Thank God for that. I took him to a opthomologist and had his eyes dialated and they looked for both conditions that way. All is good I was told but something has to be causing no erections.: I looked at something called hyogonadism I think it was called but there is just too many things it could be :-( I will keep everyone posted. Group hugs to all of you. in our journey together.

[wonderwahine]

Originally Posted by onelilguysmommy

yeah theyre supposed to from birth...dont know if all do it but at least some boys have them while their mom is pregnant with them even.

if your son never has them at all, id be worried, too! : i dont know what kind of person to ask for possible tests, however.

agreed, my ds is only about to turn 2 and hes had numerous erections in front of me just from him expoloring during diaper free time, so i would be concerned if he came to me at 10 saying he hadn't experienced it, and I had never witnessed any in his young childhood.

NM, saw the update. I hope you can get some answers soon, thankfully its not diabeties or thryroid though!