And so it begins - circumsicision edition

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If there is any possibility for us to have a reasonable conversation that would be great:

My 4 yo uncirc'd DS just told me that 2 boys from his class have been laughing at "his private parts" in the bathroom because his penis looks different. I told him that those boys weren't being nice, that it was good he told me and that everyone has body parts that look different and that lots of boys (including his brother) have private parts that look his. Anything else I should say or do? Inform the teachers?

My son has a congenital penis deformity. I am not at all sure what you are talking about, but he is 41/2 and there is NO comparison going on yet and certainly no recognition that any differences are significant or laughable. ????

That aside, many of the parents of boys I know in No. Virginia (albeit mostly academic types - so a skewed sample) do not circumcise. i can't imagine an uncircumcised penis is a rare thing around here,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, FWIW, my uncirced boy is now 13 and nobody gives a hoot. This is like being teased for having a green shirt on.

+1

If someone teases him about his nose, are you going to get him surgery to "fix" that, too?

You say what you say if he gets teased about anything else.

P.S. YES you follow up with the school. Why on earth are they allowing children to see each other's genitalia? This isn't infant care -- a 4-year-old should not be surrounded by others when using the restroom or changing clothing.

I agree with this really bc 4-year olds shouldn't be comparing private parts. Where are the teachers? What else are they doing that teachers are watching out for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, FWIW, my uncirced boy is now 13 and nobody gives a hoot. This is like being teased for having a green shirt on.

+1

If someone teases him about his nose, are you going to get him surgery to "fix" that, too?

You say what you say if he gets teased about anything else.

P.S. YES you follow up with the school. Why on earth are they allowing children to see each other's genitalia? This isn't infant care -- a 4-year-old should not be surrounded by others when using the restroom or changing clothing.

x 1,000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I should have known it would be impossible to have this conversation without the crazies coming out. To be clear - I don't care what any other parent chooses to do with their infant's foreskin.

Anyway, my questions were...did I handle this correctly and should I talk to the teachers.

I don't think my son is making it up since he otherwise doesn't know that there are different looking penises. Re the bathroom...they have a boys' bathroom with little mini urinals so I'm not surprised that the boys are seeing glimpses of others. Also, in summer, they change in and out of swim gear together, separated by gender. I don't see either situation as a big deal or cause for concern.

OP, funny as some are assuming you are the crazy. As a parent, how do you think you should handle this situation? I think you have an issue with it and therefore your child knows and cares. My 5 year old has no clue what one is or cares. I'd be more concerned something more is going on.

What do you think I have an issue with? That my son is being teased? Yes. I posted how I responded to my son and was just asking for feedback on my response. How does that make me crazy?

The subject line was not about your child being teased. It was about circumcision - and how you specifically phrased the subject line clearly says you are looking If your child is being teased at school, how do you think you should handle it. Most of us would talk or email the teacher and if that got us know where, go to the principal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, FWIW, my uncirced boy is now 13 and nobody gives a hoot. This is like being teased for having a green shirt on.

Not exactly. You can take the green shirt off.

More important, you can put the green shirt back on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, FWIW, my uncirced boy is now 13 and nobody gives a hoot. This is like being teased for having a green shirt on.

+1

If someone teases him about his nose, are you going to get him surgery to "fix" that, too?

You say what you say if he gets teased about anything else.

P.S. YES you follow up with the school. Why on earth are they allowing children to see each other's genitalia? This isn't infant care -- a 4-year-old should not be surrounded by others when using the restroom or changing clothing.

I agree with this really bc 4-year olds shouldn't be comparing private parts. Where are the teachers? What else are they doing that teachers are watching out for?

Oh my gosh. They send small groups of 4 year old boys to the bathroom before lunch. Boys go in, femal teacher waits outside. What do you think is going on? They are 4!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I should have known it would be impossible to have this conversation without the crazies coming out. To be clear - I don't care what any other parent chooses to do with their infant's foreskin.

Anyway, my questions were...did I handle this correctly and should I talk to the teachers.

I don't think my son is making it up since he otherwise doesn't know that there are different looking penises. Re the bathroom...they have a boys' bathroom with little mini urinals so I'm not surprised that the boys are seeing glimpses of others. Also, in summer, they change in and out of swim gear together, separated by gender. I don't see either situation as a big deal or cause for concern.

OP, funny as some are assuming you are the crazy. As a parent, how do you think you should handle this situation? I think you have an issue with it and therefore your child knows and cares. My 5 year old has no clue what one is or cares. I'd be more concerned something more is going on.

What do you think I have an issue with? That my son is being teased? Yes. I posted how I responded to my son and was just asking for feedback on my response. How does that make me crazy?

The subject line was not about your child being teased. It was about circumcision - and how you specifically phrased the subject line clearly says you are looking If your child is being teased at school, how do you think you should handle it. Most of us would talk or email the teacher and if that got us know where, go to the principal.

"Clearly says (I) was looking..." For what? My post said my son IS being teased for not being circ'd, do you think I handled it appropriately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are they seeing each other in the bathroom?

Since the rate is about 50/50, I don't understand how this is even an issue.

The more affluent and intellgient areas have higher circumcision rates

maybe in 1970...

[Anonymous]

for our family we always say that "everyone is different - different skin colors, different heights, different penises, etc."

I would just stress that everyone is different - no big deal.

[Anonymous]

uncircumsized penises are not rare. if they are teasing your son it is because certain dynamics have formed. they could be teasing him about anything and chose this. In other words, this is about teasing not about his penis. Deal with the teasing teh way you woudl any teasing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are they seeing each other in the bathroom?

Since the rate is about 50/50, I don't understand how this is even an issue.

The more affluent and intellgient areas have higher circumcision rates

maybe in 1970...

Maybe 1990-2013 but there is an update and the tide has turned
http://nypost.com/2015/01/29/american-snipper-why-more-men-are-getting-circumcised/
http://www.healthline.com/health-news/cdc-encourages-circumcision-120314
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2012/08/22/peds.2012-1989
"Evaluation of current evidence indicates that the health benefits of newborn male circumcision outweigh the risks and that the procedure’s benefits justify access to this procedure for families who choose it. Specific benefits identified included prevention of urinary tract infections, penile cancer, and transmission of some sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has endorsed this statement."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I should have known it would be impossible to have this conversation without the crazies coming out. To be clear - I don't care what any other parent chooses to do with their infant's foreskin.

Anyway, my questions were...did I handle this correctly and should I talk to the teachers.

I don't think my son is making it up since he otherwise doesn't know that there are different looking penises. Re the bathroom...they have a boys' bathroom with little mini urinals so I'm not surprised that the boys are seeing glimpses of others. Also, in summer, they change in and out of swim gear together, separated by gender. I don't see either situation as a big deal or cause for concern.

OP, funny as some are assuming you are the crazy. As a parent, how do you think you should handle this situation? I think you have an issue with it and therefore your child knows and cares. My 5 year old has no clue what one is or cares. I'd be more concerned something more is going on.

What do you think I have an issue with? That my son is being teased? Yes. I posted how I responded to my son and was just asking for feedback on my response. How does that make me crazy?

The subject line was not about your child being teased. It was about circumcision - and how you specifically phrased the subject line clearly says you are looking If your child is being teased at school, how do you think you should handle it. Most of us would talk or email the teacher and if that got us know where, go to the principal.

"Clearly says (I) was looking..." For what? My post said my son IS being teased for not being circ'd, do you think I handled it appropriately.

This is your attention grabber.... you are looking for a reaction. Subject: And so it begins - circumsicision edition

Here you go - oh my goodness, how terrible. You better call the teacher, principal and school board to have them yell at those terrible parents for circ. their children. That is abuse. No child should be circ. You are so right.

Seriously, if you are concerned, and its is for real, you call the teacher. You are looking for a circ. debate or some kind of reaction. Maybe you should homeschool and then you can keep your shelter your kids against terrible circ. kids.

[Anonymous]

Sorry for the attention grabbing subject line. Only used it so that people would open the thread. Nowhere did I demonize circ'd kids or parents. Give me a break. I think you have your own issues if you read so much non existent subtext into my original message.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry for the attention grabbing subject line. Only used it so that people would open the thread. Nowhere did I demonize circ'd kids or parents. Give me a break. I think you have your own issues if you read so much non existent subtext into my original message.

Then, why wouldn't you just talk to the teacher and ask for more supervision in the bathroom and be done with it. I don't get why someone would post something like this except for to get a reaction.

[Anonymous]

It's not unusual for little boys to look at each others parts. That's actually pretty normal at that age. Sure, more people in the US are choosing not to circumcise than in the past, but circumcising is still the more common thing in this country -- particularly among white and black kids. So, your child is likely to have the penis that looks different than most of his peers. Generally, there are kids who will make fun of people who are different and that's not right. It's up to parents to teach children better manners and to respect and embrace differences. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do about other people's kids. Should you bring it up to the teacher? Well, if you would bring up any other teasing to the teacher then yes. Otherwise just let your son share his feelings with you and let him know that there's nothing wrong with his penis the way it is. That some mommies and daddies choose to remove their son's foreskin and some don't. And they're both perfect.