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Talking about Masturbation

Masturbation is an act of self-pleasuring - stimulating one's own genitals for the purpose of sexual arousal, that may or may not lead to orgasm. The act of masturbating in adolescence is not only an erotic experience, it allows your child to discover and become more comfortable with their own body. You've probably already encountered your babies and young children rubbing themselves with enthusiasm. This happens long before puberty prompts them to masturbate with a more obvious sexual motivation. It is a fact that nearly all boys and many girls will masturbate at some point during their teen years. Over the past 100 years, masturbation has gone from being considered a sin - and something dangerous to one's health - to being generally viewed as a normal and healthy part of sexual development for those who wish to do it.

Remember these things: Masturbation is normal and healthy, it is a low-risk activity, it should be done in private, and most important, DO NOT lay a "guilt trip" on your son or daughter.

Wet dreams and unwanted erections

Boys and men experience erections during certain periods of sleep. When a boy has a "wet dream" it simply means that he reaches orgasm while asleep, usually during erotic dreams. Generally starting around the age of 13 or 14, they may happen occasionally, often or not at all. Many boys will have wet dreams at some stage, but it's also completely common not to have them. It's important that they are reassured that wet dreams are perfectly normal.

When a boy reaches puberty, he may experience spontaneous erections and ejaculation. Sometimes this may happen for no apparent reason and at an inappropriate time or place, such as at school or with friends. He may find this embarrassing but it's unlikely that anyone will notice. The best way to make unwanted erections go away is for him to think about something boring, and he may want to wear clothes that make erections less noticeable such as jeans instead of track pants.

Girls may also experience an orgasm during an erotic dream. Girls may be aware that their vagina is wet (moist) if they wake during these dream.