(October 6, 2015 at 10:41 pm)Exian Wrote: Yes it's very natural for both boys and girls to discover that. The hard part is navigating it within a social context, without stifling it or shaming it. I'm talking specifically as a parent. Initially, all kids know is that it feels good in the same way that they find jolly ranchers to taste good. Obviously, there's nothing like lust involved, so some form of punishment would automatically make it seem like a bad thing, but at the same time, you have to make them aware of how that is perceived in public or around other family members. But how do you do that without making them feel ashamed of it? I don't want to get into too much detail because of Internet pervs, but I told my daughter, when it was apparent she had discovered herself, that it was ok and that it was normal for people to do that, but to not do it in front of anybody, just in her own privacy. And that last part made me feel like I failed in not making her feel ashamed, but how else do you say it?
I don't think there's anything wrong with teaching kids that some things are private.
You can always emphasize that just because something is private, does NOT mean that it is shameful.
It's just private.
