Symptoms of sexual development problems in children:
Child sexual behavior indicates a more serious problem and may require professional intervention if you have the following potential warning signs of a real problem with your child's sexual development:
Developmentally inappropriate sexual behavior:
For example, a 12-year-old wanders around the house naked.
coercive sexual behaviour:
Such as an attempt by a child to persuade another child to engage in sexual activity by threats or use of aggression.
Obsessive sexual behavior:
If the child focuses a lot of time and energy on sexual behaviour, such as being intent on trying to watch their sibling or other person or child in the family take their clothes off.
Behavior not responding to redirect:
If you have adequately addressed your child's risky sexual behavior but it continues, it should be a cause for concern.
Sexual behavior that interferes with the life of the child:
It is a problem if the child's behavior interferes with friendships or the child's relationship with schoolmates. For example, a child is not allowed to go back to a friend's house after repeatedly trying to pull the friend's pants or pulling them out of class.
Sexual behavior that shows mature knowledge of sex:
A problem when children have mature knowledge of sexual behavior and act on that knowledge, for example, a 4-year-old should not imitate adult sexual activity and an 8-year-old should not attempt to access Internet pornography.
Seek professional advice about sexual development problems in children:
If children or teens often behave in the following ways and continue to do these things even when you tell them to stop, it is best to seek professional advice:
1- Young children:
Problematic sexual behavior in young children may include:
- Continue to touch their genitals even when someone is trying to get them to do something else.
- Invite another child to have sex or touch.
- Playing with dolls or other toys in a sexual manner.
- Touching the genitals of unprotected adults.
- Constantly looking at other children or adults when they are naked or going to the toilet.
2- Pre-school children:
Problematic sexual behavior in a preschooler may include:
- Constantly touching or rubbing their genitals in public and not responding to a distraction or trying to get them to do something else.
- Insist on using vulgar sexual language, even when asked not to.
- Constantly touching the genitals of children or animals, even when someone is trying to get them to do something else.
- Trying to insert something into someone else's anus or vagina.
3- Children of school age:
Problematic sexual behavior in school-age children may include:
- Constantly rubbing or touching their genitals in public, even when someone is trying to get them to do something else.
- Constantly pointing to their genitals to other children.
- Insisting on the use of sexual or vulgar language.
- Desire to play sexual games with older or younger children.
- Forcing or tricking other children into playing sexual games.
- Frequent desire to look at or touch the genitals of other children or adults.
Labels
Sexual Health