Genital play

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Genital play is a common early childhood behavior of genital exploration distinct from autoerotic stimulation. This behavior is part of a normative period of children exploring all parts of their bodies, and some psychologists have even suggested genital play is a sign of healthy psychosexual development. [1] Though genital play may rarely evolve directly into masturbation, the behavior is sometimes misinterpreted directly as masturbation by adults.

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Genital play usually begins in some boys between six and seven months of age, and in some girls at ten to eleven months. [2] Genital play may continue during early childhood. When the child is about six years old, a sexual latency period starts in which there could be some private masturbation. The latency phase ends when the child at ten years old enters preadolescence. [3]

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References

  1. Pike, Lynn Blinn (January 2001). "Sexuality and Your Child: For Children Ages 3 to 7".
  2. Jon D. Bancroft (29 December 2008). Human Sexuality and its problems. Elsevier Health Sciences. p. 148. ISBN   978-0443051616.
  3. "North Carolina Dept. of Health and Human Services online publications" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 30, 2015.

Further reading