Biology:Playing doctor
"Playing doctor" is a phrase used colloquially in the Western world to refer to children examining each other's genitals or bodies.[1] It originates from children using the pretend roles of doctor and patient as a pretext for such an examination. However, whether or not such role-playing is involved, the phrase is used to refer to any similar examination.[2][3][4]
Playing doctor is considered by most child psychologists to be a normal step in childhood development between the ages of approximately three and six years, so long as all parties are willing participants and relatively close in age.[5] A study by American sexologist Alfred Kinsey published in the book Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) found that 38.6% of all 10-year-old children practice heterosexual and homosexual doctor play.[6] However, it can be a source of discomfort to parents to discover their children are engaging in such an activity.[7] Parenting professionals often advise parents to view such a discovery as an opportunity to calmly teach their children about different sex characteristics, personal privacy, private parts, and respecting the privacy of other children.[3]
Playing doctor is distinguished from child-on-child sexual abuse, as the latter is an exploitative relationship involving sexual stimulation and usually a difference in age or knowledge, rather than playful curiosity.[8]
See also
- Child sexual abuse
- Child sexuality
- Genital play
- Make believe
- Role-playing § Amusement
- Sibling relationship § Among children
References
- ↑ "Is Your Preschooler Playing Doctor?". FamilyEducation. http://life.familyeducation.com/sexuality/toddler/53839.html. Excerpted from: Boyd, Keith M.; Osborn, Kevin (June 1997). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Parenting a Preschooler and Toddler, Too. USA: Penguin Group. ISBN 978-0-02-861733-6. https://archive.org/details/completeidiotsgu0000boyd.
- ↑ Pike, Lynn Blinn (January 2001). "Sexuality and Your Child: For Children Ages 3 to 7". University of Missouri Extension. http://extension.missouri.edu/xplor/hesguide/humanrel/gh6002.htm.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Clayton, Victoria (6 August 2004). "Playing doctor: How to teach kids about inappropriate touch". Growing Up Healthy. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna5444897.
- ↑ Heins, Marilyn (2004). "Sex Play: parenting strategies". ParentKidsRight. http://www.parentkidsright.com/pt-sexplay.html.
- ↑ Sexual Development and Behavior in Children: Information for Parents and Caregivers (Report). American Psychological Association. 2009. doi:10.1037/e736972011-001.
- ↑ Kinsey, Alfred Charles; Pomeroy, Wardell Baxter; Martin, Clyde Eugene (1998). Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-33412-1.
- ↑ "I Caught Them Playing Doctor!". FamilyEducation. http://www.canadianparents.com/article/i-caught-them-playing-doctor. Excerpted from: Pantley, Elizabeth; Sears, William (June 1997). Perfect Parenting: The Dictionary of 1,000 Parenting Tips. McGraw-Hill. p. 239. ISBN 978-0-8092-2847-8. https://archive.org/details/perfectparenting00pant.
- ↑ Carlson, Bonnie E.; MacIol, Katherine; Schneider, Joanne (2006). "Sibling Incest: Reports from Forty-One Survivors". Journal of Child Sexual Abuse 15 (4): 19–34. doi:10.1300/J070v15n04_02. PMID 17200052. "Dimensions considered to differentiate normal sexual play between siblings from sibling incest include (1) age difference between the parties; (2) types of sexual behaviors (in particular whether penetration is involved), frequency, and duration, as well as their appropriateness to the child’s developmental level; (3) motivation (curiosity or exploration versus exploitation or sexual gratification of one sibling at the expense of the other); and (4) mutuality or voluntariness (Caffaro & Conn-Caffaro, 1998; DeJong, 1989; Finkelhor, 1980; Wiehe & Herring, 1991). The conceptual definition of sibling incest used in this study is consistent with that proposed by the National Task Force on Juvenile Sexual Offending discussed by Shaw, Lewis, Loeb, Rosado, and Rodriguez (2000, p. 1592): sexual acts initiated by one sibling toward another without the other’s consent, by use of force or coercion, or where there is a power differential between the siblings.".
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