Sex Education is Important for a 12 Year Old Boy
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anonymous Asks ...
My 12 year old son exposed himself to his cousin at a family bbq when they were off in the woods together. She told her mom and my sister told me. There have been a couple of other similar incidents over the years. My son says he was just fooling around and that it is no big deal. I am worried that he is getting too old to be doing stupid stuff like this and that maybe this is a symptom of something else. How worried should I be about what he is doing? Should he talk to someone about this stuff and about sex?
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Dr. Shirley Schaye Says ...
I am sorry to hear about what is going on with your son. He needs to be told that it most definitely is a big deal and he cannot do that. I say this because there have been other incidents. So let me ask you ---- what were the other incidents and to whom did he expose himself? You need to tell him that he is lucky that no one called the police. And again,to say to him, no, I am sorry it is a big deal. If someone called the police you might be sent to a Juvenile Detention Center.
Apropos of what you asked --- "Should he talk to someone about this stuff and about sex?" Yes, I think it would be a good idea to talk to a child therapist AND, also have his dad talk to him about sex --- for his dad to sit down with him and let your son feel free to ask him questions and for his dad to let your son feel comfortable about asking him questions but for his dad to tell him that he cannot expose himself to anyone --- that it will get him into trouble.
You and his dad may want to google "Books explaining Sex to a 12 year old boy" to see about which books to order that he might want to read.
I hope the books will help. Should you have any other questions do not hesitate to ask me.
Dr. Shirley Schaye
