8 year old penis development

[grtret]

Since he started grade school, my now 8 year old son got the habit of lying naked on the sofa to watch TV after school. Lately, I noticed his penis has grown a bit, and tends to be a bit of a reddish-brown deep colour. It is a little firm too, and I suspect he may sometimes be getting little erections. He sais it doesn't hurt though. I took a measurement with a ruler and it is about 2 and a half inches. He has no pubic hair at all and his testicles seem normal. I told him I might need to let the doctor check him but he begged me not to, because he is shy about other people seeing him naked.
My question is how developed should an 8 year old boy be, in terms of genitals and otherwise. Is this normal? My son is a caucasian, but his grandfather was latino so he is a bit tanned in complexion naturally.
Please give me some advise.

[yudmem]

erections are totally normal
size- It looks normal to me but I'm not a pediatrician so I'm not sure.
I suggest you go see a pediatrician by your own, and only if he suspects something abnormal then you'll bring him your child
yours

[yudmem]

and most importantly- don't give your child the feeling that he is wrong or guilty in something

[wrayn]

Wow,...I seriously hope things are alright and that you didn't hurt your son by YOU being prudish or too weird.  He probably needs to be naked a bit (in good supervision) -- it is healthy & very stress-relieving AND helps him to NOT see nudity as merely nasty or sexual.  I honestly think you overreacted.  Even a caucasion penis can have darker coloration -- especially as he grows up a bit -- since all those blood vessels are there & he is developing normal health & function in that area.  Consider how a person's face can have a healthy, pink hue or "glow"...and that the penis is naturally endowed with an axtraordinary ability to enlarge due to vascularity.  --- On the contrary side, impotence is associated with poor vascular health, and an older person's face that is very pale is considered unhealthy.