I would be concerned he is being abused, even by another child at school, or watching inappropriate content.

He’s being abused

Anonymous wrote:My seven year old DS was naked under a blanket while I was getting him clean clothes from the laundry room. He tore off his blanket and started humping the back of my leg. He’s done similar things in the past. I admonished him and told him there would be consequences and told him not to do it again. He did not seem to grasp the cause for concern. Looking for gentle advice please.

Be gentle with your son, OP. Discipline is inappropriate here. You TALK to him. You tell him that it's not appropriate for him to rub his naked body on other people, but knock it off with the "there would be consequences" line. He's 7. Inappropriate sexual behavior can just be regular 7yo impulse control problems or it can be a sign that he's been abused by someone or seen something online that taught him the behavior. Punishing a kid in this situation puts the kid being abused in MORE danger and doesn't do anything for the impulse control problem in the first kid.

I would also try to find out where this behavior came from. My 7 year old liked to touch his penis but he did not know the concept of humping. Did he see something inappropriate?

This is sick get his head checked

I wouldn’t discipline but talk to him about why it’s inappropriate. I’m sure either he or one of his classmates/friends saw a video and he thought it would be funny without understanding.

It is probably too late to do this now, but if it happens again, would try very hard to keep my voice calm and neutral and ask him what he’s doing and why and see what the response is and go from there.

We aren’t a naked kind of household, so that’s personal preference.

I have a kindergartener who does this. He says he saw it on YouTube or TicTok. His mother is barely out of her teens and she said she lets him watch what he wants on his phone.

7 is too young for this kind of behavior. I was abused as a child acted out in all sorts of ways and now wish had noticed and talked to me about it.

Anonymous wrote:Its not normal. He might be sexually abused. Please talk to him.

+1
Talk to him. He might have an inappropriate friend. He learned that somewhere. Find out where.

I’d stop letting him run around naked, underwear required at all times except bath.

If he jumped my leg in his bedroom I’d have immediately left the room.

If he did it in another room I’d send him to his bedroom or the bathroom. That’s where he needs to learn to do those types of things.

Its not normal. He might be sexually abused. Please talk to him.

Don’t punish. Send him to his room with the blanket and say he can’t do it around you.

But also this seems odd, does he invade people’s personal space otherwise?

Masturbation is normal and healthy. What you need to get through to him is that he’s not allowed to use living beings as an aid. It’s a blanket interdiction for now, given his behavior and lack of understanding. Later you can talk about informed consent. Be very clear, he’ll get it eventually.

My seven year old DS was naked under a blanket while I was getting him clean clothes from the laundry room. He tore off his blanket and started humping the back of my leg. He’s done similar things in the past. I admonished him and told him there would be consequences and told him not to do it again. He did not seem to grasp the cause for concern. Looking for gentle advice please.