Inappropriate sexual activity in classroom

My son, who is five and is in kindergarten was involved in an incident with another little boy in his classroom.  They were playing alone in the 'dramatic play' area,(puppets, dress up, etc.) and the one little boy pulled down his pants, and my son dropped to his knees and was about to either kiss or touch the other little boy's penis with his mouth.  I am horrified by the fact that this happened, first, with another boy, and second, in full view of the classroom.  My son is young for the grade and isn't necessarily a 'leader' of the group.  My husband and I have always emphasized the fact that his body is private.  I could see this being suggested to him, but don't know if this is normal behavior or not.  I don't even know where to begin in terms of addressing it with him, or if he should be punished.  Should I take him to a therapist?  Help.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Dear Diane,

Children your son's age do sometimes engage in play that involves exposing their genital area and engaging in some touching. This by itself is not unusual. Of course, when it occurs limits have to be set and children, in an ongoing way, need to be instructed about the difference between appropriate and inappropriate forms of physical conduct, as you have been doing with your son.

The specific nature of your son's behavior should be explored a bit, because the specifics of what occurred wouldn't normally occur by chance. I'd inquire of him about the activity and how it originated, how it happened to occur. It may indicate exposure to some inappropriate type of behavior. You needn't punish him, but I think the incident warrants further talk.

[ni]

My child seems to have some sexual fixations. He is 7 and aggresses his large-for-his-age body on other children. He "plays" too rough and puts himself on kids, boys and girls. A few weeks ago he was playing with a neighbor girl and pinned her down and stuck his tongue in her mouth. She was scared and left crying. When his mother told me about it, I brushed it off as being normal things curious kids do, but she insisted that my child is something of a rapist. He is fixated on his penis and talks about sexual things all the time (asks adults about their undergarments, etc.) What problem does he have?