Scene: Public restroom somewhere in Ocean City, MD My son and I are peeing.
My almost 4 year old intact son, Sullivan: Daddy, why does your penis look like that?
Me a circumcised Dad: What that ring?
Sullivan: Yeah that ring.
Me: That's a scar. I was circumcised without my consent when I was a baby. Your mom and I didn't want to do that to you.
Sullivan: Hee hee! We are peeing! Can we go bowling later?
(Note: At no time did he express concern, regret, or sadness that we didn't "look alike.")
Many more ridiculous reasons for circumcision will be explored and blown apart on this page in the future. Stay tuned.
Great post! Great blog! My son is intact and my husband isn't and he (now 4) doesn't even notice or really or even give 2 craps about it:)
ReplyDeleteI'm cut, and my son is intact at my insistence.
ReplyDeleteHe has seen me naked thousands of time and never once asked why mine is different to his, and all the other men and boys at the naturist club.
That's good, probably all he needs to know at that age.
ReplyDeleteIf it becomes an issue, there's a story for intact boys (aged ~7) here, and one for young teens here. Both are available as pdfs.
My 4-year old son asked me once why his dad looked different than him. I replied, "When dad was a baby, doctors cut off his foreskin, and they weren't supposed to." Nothing more than that. My son nodded his head and we haven't discussed it since. Communication and honesty helps keep things less complicated.
ReplyDeleteMy 6- and 3-yr old boys are intact. It was a deal-breaker for me -and their dad went along. The older one has asked a few times -especially since his foreskin has become retractable, and he's learned to play all sorts of games with it. One form of the question was "Why doesn't Dad have the purple part?" (The glans, when it isn't chaffed and hardened, is kind of purple in color) I gave him a similar answer (Though I added that when grandma let them do that, she was told that it was best for her kids -he doesn't need to be mad with her for hurting his dad). More recently, he said while amusing himself in the bathtub "Mom, it's really too bad. Dad doesn't have the fun part." So true.
ReplyDelete