Six year old boy and erections

I have a six y.o. and a ten y.o. boy.  Their next birthdays will be in the fall.  The youngest has always been more outgoing than his older brother, who is much more reserved.  I have not had "THE" talk with either one yet, as thus far no situations warranted it.  They do know about menstrual periods, and why women have them.  They are both smart and are at the top of their classes at school.

This morning, while watching "Family Matters" (which is a kids show similar to Full House) I heard from the next room my younger telling the older that when he watches people kiss, (in the show Mom and Dad kissed and hugged) he gets a weird feeling in his penis and it gets hard.  He asked his brother if it ever happened to him, and he said it didn't.  

After having a mini-heart attack, I walked in where they were.  I explained that it was perfectly normal behavior for him to have sensations in his genitals when he sees people kissing or hugging, but it's something that isn't talked about outside the home.  I told him it's not something to laugh and joke about, it's just a body function.

Also, in the last few months he has been trying to kiss me, saying that I am his girlfriend. This has happened maybe a handful of times.  I have told him it's not appropriate to kiss me like that, but when he is older and has a wife or girlfriend, it will be.

A little backround, my husband and I are still married, and both are our biological children.  I was very conservative with the shows that my older child watched when he was younger.  However, since they get along so well and have many common interests, the younger one likes to watch the same shows as his brother.  Fairly Odd Parents, SpongeBob, Drake and Josh, etc. 99% of the shows they have watched have been on children's cable channels.  They have seen maybe 1 or 2 PG13 movies (for violence Spiderman, etc.), and no R movies.  TV shows rated 14 and above are restricted with parental code and are not viewed by them. Nudity has never treated as a big deal in the home, they have seen my husband and I naked here and there (while dressing, shower etc. never together) but it's far from a nudist camp. :)

Is this normal behavior for a child this age?  What course of action regarding information is suggested that I take next with him/them?  I am panicking that this behavior will only escalate (I am sure it will, they all grow up

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Yes, the behavior is certainly normal for the age and it sounds like you're handling it fine. Kids this age don't need much information - a little goes a long way. You might obtain from your library a couple of books that address the topic of sex and reproduction. Just be sure the books are appropriate to his age level and don't focus more on adolescent development.

[Jerefrancis]

I'm a 25 year old male....actually turning 26 in about 2 weeks, and I never recall as a 6 year old having sexual tendencies or desires.  I remember my first sexual desire or feeling occurred on my 15th birthday.  I come from a broken home if that is the correct word to use, whereas my parents divorced as I was only 5 years of age.  Nonetheless my father never even gave me "THE TALK".  Believe it or not come to think of it my mom discussed more sexual issues with myself versus my father considering I lived with my mother and saw my dad every other weekend growing up.  I'm not trying to make comparisons between my childhood versus your six year old boys childhood, but i'm just giving you the perspective of a soon to be 26 year old male.  I have a newborn baby myself so that is why I am in this room and giving you my feedback regarding your circumstances.

[stroth5]

My 6 year old son masterbates a great deal of the time.  He has always had daily erections from birth, but he seems consumed by this behavior and even began doing it in school this year.  He puts his hands in his pants or against his underwear and lays on his stomach and humps his hips back and forth.  We recently discovered he and his brother were molested by their maternal Grandfather; we don't know how long this went on, but he has been having this behavior for more than 18 months.  I am wondering is this healthy from a male stand point?  Is there a way to get him to understand to stop and it's not an appropriate thing for a child his age to do?  Do we need to be overly concerned about this?  Counseling did nothing for him and he greatly defended the perpetrator for months after our discovery.  His younger brother began acting out sexual behavior that, as his parents, we knew he hadn't seen in our home and when confronted (gently) he let us know some of what had been going on.  We did contact law enforcement, etc. and that is a whole other long story.  Right now I am concerned about stopping the masterbation (masturbation).  He does it a great deal of the time and I am worried, now that he did it at school, about anyone seeing him and the consequences of that and any psychological impacts.

[kscarlson]

A related discussion, 5 yr old childs play? was started.