Male exposing himself to others

[Letitgo]

My son is 7 1/2 years old.  Over the last two months he has exposed himself to a couple of girls.  One being the neighbor, she is six.  And the other his younger cousin, who is four.  He will expose himself then ask them to do the same in return.  I know some of this is curiosity. What concerns me is that after the first incident we discussed in detail the importance of keeping our "privates" to ourselves and NEVER let anyone see them, show them to anyone, or let anyone touch them.  And also to come and tell us if anyone ever asks him to show his privates or tries to touch his privates. He, so I thought, listened and understood the importance of the issue.  The second incident was a little more disturbing since we had already discussed the issue and importance of keeping our "privates" private.  What concerns me even more was that this time he asked if he could touch her.  I am very concerned and wondering if this is a behavior that needs to be addressed by a professional, i.e. counseling, psych eval, etc.  I have asked my son if anyone has ever touched him or asked him to show his privates and he adimately states "NO!"  Does he need behavioral counseling, and at what point is "crossing the line" on curiosity?

Thank you for your help.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Your son is a bit old for this type of behavior, which is more typical of pre-schoolers. At the same time, however, you needn't be alarmed at this point. Is your son impulsive in general, and might what occurred be an example of an overall pattern of impusivity? Be sure to review again with him the limit you have already set. You needn't discipline him for what occurred, but do be firm about your limits. If there is another episode I would pursue an evaluation by a mental health professional, but it isn't needn't now.

[ucla1991]

A related discussion, exposure was started.