2 brothers experimenting

I am freaked out.  I have 2 sons, 1 is 9 and the other just turned 13.  My 9 year old  become obsessed about confessing everything.  He's been very depressed and i'm scared for him.  He's been telling me about every dirty thought, every swear, every time he and his friends talked dirty ( I think this is all normal 9 year old stuff) but now, he's telling me about things he and his brother have done.  They have masterbated lying in the bed next to each other..  My 13 year old (who my 9 year old said was 12 when it happened, my 12 year old said it happened a couple years ago) says the 9 year old is exaggerating everything, but the 9 year old swears it happened.  My 9 year old also confesses he's masterbating (masturbating) in the bathroom at school.  I am extremely afraid for him.  He was a quiet, thoughtful, wonderful boy who was always looking out for others, now he cries constranty and thinks he's a horrible person.  What can I do?  I am afraid of losing my children because of this.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Your son is displayng symptoms typical of a typ of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder characterized by heightened scrupulosity. It would be prudent to have him evalauted by a pediatric mental health clinician. Relative to the mutual masturbation, discuss this with both boys and, is space permits, change the sleeping arrangements so that they are not together at night.