OK you can pull your pants up now!

Moth's children do actually exist: those that are not particularly interested in sexual matters and would not benefit from being encouraged to participate in experiences that don't really welcome. There are children who dabble a bit in sex play, are not particularly interested, and just, naturally enough for them, put it aside.

Yep, many (most?) are just curious about the 'mysteries' of the other sex.

Moth does admit that some children are sexual at an early age. Unfortunately, Moth always throws in the caveat that he doesn't see it as necessary for them or even beneficial.

For some it might be, for those they include in their explorations it might not be. I will agree it is a very, very grey area.

Moth, I do wish you would acknowledge that it is, and has been for a few decades now, the official position of the western mental health establishment, as evidenced by introductory psychology textbooks, that sex play is necessary to healthy psychosexual development. When I say necessary, I mean that it is believed that children deprived of the opportunity for erotic play will inevitably grow up sexually dysfunctional.


Did I say otherwise? I was remarking mainly on adult involvement but for older children initiating younger it holds also. I don't have too many problems with sexual exploration. Having full sex at age 10 perhaps goes way beyond exploration and into the realms of practice.

I would like to close by pointing out that, contrary to popular opinion, I have known some adults who claim to have had very little (but not zero) by way of sex play when they were young (i.e., 4-8), and despite having a late start in their early teens, claim to have a happy sex life with their adult partners. There is one extremely important point here, though: none of them were DEPRIVED of opportunities for erotic play when they were ready for it, they simply were not interested in doing much of it. Their interest came late. It is just as wrong to claim that all children are ready on the early side as to claim that none of them are ready until puberty. However, while presenting (NOT forcing) opportunities to children before they are ready will result in them passing up the opportunities, or having little benefit should they freely choose to participate, depriving children when they are ready will result in dysfunction.

I am all for some improvements in sexual education for the young.

As to damaging children by introducing them to sexual contact early, what society is really afraid of is children learning a non-prudish attitude towards sex. This would cause the sex taboo to disappear in a single generation.

And this is cobblers, what society and most professionals are afraid of is perhaps a generation of sexualised children who might see that sex is the way to obtain their needs throughout life and the possibility of much psychological damage being done from their inabilities to understand the affects of their early sexual experiences.

Moth

ps. I don't really subscribe to smacking children but in your case I made an exception as I think you might like it.