Public masturbation during childhood is more common a problem than most parents may ever imagined. In fact, it is considered normal behavior for children to masturbate once in a while, and we may see such comportment even in babies at around eighteen months of age. Although most parents usually overreact when facing public masturbation behavior, the most effective solution is to deal with calm but firmness. Children masturbate for the exact same reasons as adults do, to relieve tension and stress and to feel pleasure, although they don't know why they're having such sensations.

For the child, public masturbation is also a common behavior, since she doesn't have the notions of pubic and private well adjusted. It's important to not punish public masturbation, but treating it such as other behaviors that are not acceptable in public places, such as nose picking. Parents have to teach children that public masturbation is wrong, although it CAN be done while they are alone, in their bedroom or in the shower.

Another solution for public masturbation is offering something else for the child to play in public places. As in general children are not compulsive about masturbation, they will forget urges and pay attention to other activity. If warned by your child's day care provider that you child is still at masturbation, make a plan together and apply the same approach to deal with it.

It's also important to say that public masturbation may be a problem only when it becomes compulsive by interfering in other activities and interpersonal relations. It would also be wise to consider whether the child could be scratching the genitals instead of masturbating, what may indicate some infection or a rash.