“Help! My 2-Year-Old Daughter Won’t Stop Masturbating!”

In a rather unusual Q&A session, a mother explains she is having trouble getting her 2-year-old daughter to stop touching herself.

From the pages of Mainichi:

Q. My 2-year-old daughter won’t stop touching herself

She’s 2 years 11 months old. At night, when she goes to bed she keeps touching her genitals through her pajamas, saying “it feels good.” I’m troubled by this. I told her “It’ll start to hurt so stop it” but she won’t stop. How on earth can I make her stop?

A mother from Osaka

A. Perhaps she’s lonely, you should wait to see if she stops

Infant masturbation is not unusual. Children are aware of their genitals from the age of about 18 months. Naturally, they become curious about their bodies. I think she simply learnt that it felt good whilst exploring her body this way.

In a case like this it’s likely just chance – there’s no need to think “my child is a nymphomaniac…” It’s just a matter of skin contact, and there’s likely not much to worry about.

In the case of the child, she’s not touching herself directly so there appear to be no great hygiene concerns.

So, how to get her to stop? You might want to try and wait it out. If you emphasise the behaviour to her she might become attached to it.

Possibly she is lonely. You could try having her sleep with mother, or perhaps with a stuffed toy.

But if she gets older and starts doing it in front of people, you should explain to her about her genitals. Just tell her “You mustn’t touch your genitals in front of people.”