I know there is probably no 'right' answer to this, but HOW can I get my 2.9 year old DS to LEAVE HIS WILLY ALONE. Just for a minute...

[CaptainKarvol]

Really, it is getting silly now!

I honestly don't mind him playing with his willy - natural, normal and all that.

But it is ALL THE TIME.

His hand is either down his pants or his willy has been pulled up so it peeps out over his waistband (which is, obviously, the funniest thing ever if you are two...)

I've tried
ignoring,
quickly and firmly saying 'put it away now, DS',
telling him 'not in public, it's rude',
telling him that it's going to get sore if he carries on.

He has free willy access day and night as he's potty trained.

It's a combination of genuinely thinking it is going to get sore (he had balanitis once as a baby, ouch), and thinking everyone is going to judge me as a terrible mother for not being able to deal with a small boy showing off his willy in public.

Any ideas?

Give him chocolate?

distraction is the only thing you can 'try', be careful using words like it's rude, can set up negative associations etc.

• he gets chocolate for everything! But yes, bribery (makes note), good thought...

Agree about the negative words too, it's the only one I could think of though. His vocab is terrific, but 'it's not socially acceptable' (which is what I mean) might be a bit beyond his experience? Better suggestions welcome...

Your willy'll get cold and fall off

You could start to introduce the concept of privacy - ie explain that he can play with his willy when he's in private.

My DS did the same for a while but it seems to have passed. I just tried to ignore it as much as poss but then tried distraction while out. Could you encourage him to take out little toys with him? If his hands are busy holding them then he can't hold anything else!
With my DS I find if he gets any kind of attention for something it normally carries on - esp if he finds it hilarious to start with!
Appreciate everyone's dc's are different though.

'Your willy'll get cold and fall off, unless you do that in your nice, warm bedroom, where it's private'. Hmmmm, has potential...

He's not so bad when out, tbh, it's indoors (sensible chap, likes the warm...). He will try batting table tennis balls while holding his willy with his 'free' hand, though (main current distraction is bat-and-ball).

uh oh, he's woken up ! got to go...

Just tell him that if he wants to play with his willy that he has to go to his room.

It does get better, although my six year old still likes playing with his willy in the bath and in bed. I am certain its throughly normal for boys and men to play with their willies. Its just about the right time and the right place.

You can't.

You are fighting a losing battle.

As he gets older, you can usefully introduce the concept that he can play with his willy in private but not in public, but at this age honestly there really is no point. You will just be banging your head against the wall for no reason - it won't make any difference. The only thing you can do in public is put him in outfits it's hard to get to his willy to and distract.

If other mothers are snooty about it, they're stupid, so you can dismiss their views with equanimity.

you could try tighter trousers, but then ds just takes his off when he wants a fiddle.