my 6 year old masturbates

I've caught my son masturbating in the tub a couple of times now.  I didn't know that this is what he was doing at first.  I thought he was in there playing with his toys, but I became concerned when he was in there for hours at a time. I didn't know how to handle it so I punished him for it.  I'm worried that he will touch someone else from this behavior and violate someone.  I don't know what to do.  Is it wrong that I punished him?  Should I let him continue this behavior?

[jd1419]

I would sit him down and explain that you were wrong for punishing him.  You can tell him if what he was doing felt good he can do that but it must be done in private---if you are walking in on him in the bathroom during bath time--set a timer and say when it goes off mom is coming in to get you out---that will let him know that what ever he was doing in there time is up and you don't want to see it...let him know it was okay but just must be done in private...but nothing is wrong.

[momma-of-3g1b]

I agree its wrong to punish him, im sure it caught you off guard so you reacted quickly and like jd1419 said , I would tell him you didnt mean to punish him like that. Its ok to let him know you just needed time to think of the right things to say.
I dont mean to sound harsh here but, a lot of people/children masturbate and do not violate people or touch anyone else!
Its very normal for children to do this. He just has to be taught that he cannot touch others this way or that other people cannot touch him in this way.
He doesnt know this behavior is sexual he just knows it feels good and he can do it himself . Just make sure he knows its  a private thing.