I'm so glad to hear there are many other little boys (and girls) who have discovered their "bits" and can't keep their hands off it

DS1 is almost 3 and he too has been fiddling with his quite a lot until he gets an erection. It seems to have coincided with him becoming toilet trained and therefore in undies during the day. I find he's worse if he is actually only wearing undies and no shorts over the top, which I guess makes sense because he has easier access to it He also used to run into his bedroom after a bath (still naked) and press himself up against the full length mirror on his wardrobe which would get the same result.

I too was worried about making him feel dirty or ashamed and was not really sure how to handle it at first - and it didn't help that my mother (who can be a bit of a prude) would notice him doing it and immediately make a huge deal about and and loudly tell him to "stop it!" or "leave it alone, thats dirty!" in a not so nice way.

I've tried not to make a big thing about it, but instead, I try distracting him and he usually forgets about it straight away. I've also told my mum to do the same thing and it seems to be working, although occasionally I'll still catch him doing it.

At the end of the day though, I realise its something he'll do from time to time and can't really be prevented, so I just keep sticking to the distraction and diversion techniques.