Foreskin query

[Clair100]

My DS is 5 years old. I bath or shower him every day. I just wondered whether I should be pulling his foreskin back to clean underneath it? I never have - just a general wash in the willy and bum area! At what age should underneath the foreskin be cleaned? Sorry for my ignorance but seeing as I don't have a willy myself I have no idea!! Thanks!

[MoonUnitAlpha]

No, leave it alone - you could ask him to pull it back and clean it, but if you mess around with it you could do some damage.

[Ooopsadaisy]

My ds got a nasty infection when he was about 6 and the doc told me he should be taught to pull foreskin back ever so slightly and thoroughly wash and rinse the area.

No more infections and he is now a horrible teenager so it's his ishooo - not mine!

I agree - how would we know? Willy's are a mystery to me in every sense!

[Indith]

Ds is almost 4, I remind him to pull the skin back and give it a swoosh in the water when he has his bath. We started that once the foreskin was retracting nicely (when he started parading around and showing me how far it retracted!). Not like he needs much encouragement to do it himself :)

[Clair100]

Thanks for your replies. I have once tried gently to pull the skin back in the bath, but it didn't move easily so I just left it.

Maybe I'll suggest he has a go himself but I am reluctent to do that to be honest as he is pretty non-plussed about his willy at the moment and I don't want to draw his attention to it! Next thing I know he'll be fiddling with himself in front of the inlaws or another inappropriate time!

[Suzannesee]

It is certainly not a good idea to pull the foreskin back until it has separated naturally. Some boys do this for themselves early on, others never explore the possibility even in puberty. The adhesions that bond the glans to the foreskin are a defence mechanism to stop things that cause infection getting between and building up unhealthy irritation during the early years, so you are right not to force things.

The difficulty is knowing at what age and stage this separation has happened, as that is the moment you need to teach them to wash regularly. If they neglect this or avoid it as many older boys do, they can have problems. My sister had this because her son found retraction painful and wouldn't cooperate. He ended up being circumcised at seven.

As a result of seeing this, I have to confess, I took all this worry and guesswork out of my situation by having both my sons circumcised when they were babies. I've ben criticised for this but they are both fine and problem free.

[TheProvincialLady]

At 5, I think it might be a good idea to encourage your DS to wash his own genitals. Can his dad show him how?

[Clair100]

He does wash himself, just not to the same standard of hygiene as I would like due to the fact that, a) the is 5 and, b) he is a boy :)

[TheProvincialLady]

Really? My DS1 has dealt with his own genitals since 3, with no problems. Obviously I supervise. Perhaps it is easier in the bath than if they shower? i.e. the bathwater does most of the job.