Sexual Behaviour of Children
Sexual behaviours of children aged 0–4 years: infant, toddler and preschool
Age-appropriate Sexual behaviours:
- Touching or rubbing their own genitals
- Enjoying being nude
- Showing others their genitals
- Playing doctors and nurses
- Playing mummies and daddies
- Touching or looking at the private parts of other children or familiar adults
- Using slang words/dirty language for bathroom and sexual functions, talking about "sexing"
Concerning sexual behaviours :
- Persistent masturbation that does not cease when told to stop
- Forcing another child to engage in sexual play
- Sexualising play with dolls such as "humping" a teddy bear
- Touching the private parts of adults not known to the child
- Chronic peeping behaviour
Very concerning sexual behaviours:
- Persistently touching or rubbing themselves to the exclusion of normal childhood activities; hurting their own genitals by rubbing or touching
- Simulating sex with other children, with or without clothes on
- Oral sex
- Sexual play involving forceful anal or vaginal penetration with objects
Source: Johnson 1999, Johnson & Doonan 2006
Sexual behaviours of children aged 5–7 years: early school years
Age-appropriate sexual behaviours
- Self-touching including masturbating
- ‘Show me yours/I’ll show you mine’ with same-age children
- Hearing and telling age-appropriate dirty jokes
- Playing mummies and daddies
- Kissing/holding hands
- Mimicking or practicing observed behaviours such as pinching a bottom
Concerning sexual behaviours
- Continually rubbing/touching their own genitals in public
- Persistent use of dirty words
- Wanting to play sex games with much older or younger children
- Continually wanting to touch the private parts of other children
- Chronic peeping behaviour
Very concerning sexual behaviours
- Touching or rubbing themselves persistently in private or public to the exclusion of normal childhood activities
- Rubbing their genitals on other people
- Forcing other children to play sexual games
- Sexual knowledge too advanced for their age
- Talking about sex and sexual acts habitually
Source: Johnson 1999, Johnson & Doonan 2006
Sexual behaviours of children aged 8–12 years: pre-adolescent
Age-appropriate sexual behaviours
- Occasional masturbation
- 'Show me yours/I’ll show you mine’ with peers
- Kissing and flirting
- Genital or reproduction conversations with peers
- Dirty words or jokes with their peer group
Concerning sexual behaviours
- Attempting to expose others’ genitals
- Sexual knowledge too advanced for their age once context is considered
- Preoccupation with masturbation
- Mutual masturbation/group masturbation
- Single occurrence of peeping, exposing, obscenities, pornographic interest (sources include the internet, pay TV, videos, DVDs and magazines)
- Stimulating foreplay or intercourse with peers with their clothes on
Very concerning sexual behaviours
- Compulsive masturbation, including task interruption to masturbate
- Repeated or chronic peeping, exposing or using obscenities
- Chronic pornographic interest including child pornography* (sources include the internet, pay TV, videos, DVDs and magazines)
- Degradation/humiliation of themselves using sexual themes
- Degradation/humiliation of others using sexual themes
- Touching the genitals of others without permission*
- Sexually explicit threats – written or verbal*
- Forced exposure of others’ genitals*
- Simulating intercourse with peers with clothes off
- Penetration of dolls, children or animals*
- For children aged 10–12, these behaviours may constitute criminal offences such as indecent assault, indecent act, or sexual assault (common law).
Source: Ryan 2000
* For children aged 10 - 12, these behaviours may constitute criminal offences such as indecent assault, indecent act, or sexual assault (common law).
Source : Raising Happy children and providing safe childhoods - A Reader by Ministry of Women and Child Development
Last Modified : 6/25/2024
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