This course is a first module in a series of courses on children’s sexual behavior. Completion of this module is recommended prior to taking more classes by the same author.

Infants come into the world thirsty for the sounds, smells, sights and sensations of their new environment. During the first two years of life, they learn through sensory stimulation. The architecture of the brain is laid out. The process of holding and being held, of touching and being touched, of gazing into the eyes of a caring adult, of feeling nourished, all combine to form an internal working model of the world. Through the process of attachment, sensory-motor stimulation of the infant creates the hard-wiring for sexual development.

Attachment creates the core for caring about one’s behavior. Attachment creates meaning by moralizing life lessons. Through the attachment relationship, the child learns that some behaviors are worth delaying, even denying, if it makes you shine in the eyes of a caregiver—if the reward is love. A child’s family and culture prohibit some behaviors, while encouraging others. Cultural rules and conventions determine how one grows up to be male and female. Culture defines what sexual behaviors are acceptable among children, what is legal and what is not, what is healthy and what is not.

In modern culture, public panic about child molestation colors our perception of children’s normal and healthy sexual behavior. Sexual expression in childhood is now viewed as a possible prelude to adolescent acting-out and adult sexual misconduct. We are awash in a sea of sexual ambivalence. As a culture, we both worship and exploit child innocence. We are titillated, as well as outraged, by media portrayal of sexualized images of children. Sexual messages bombard us, yet we seem to have become numb to them, rarely talking about how they might be shaping the sexual development of our children.

It is with these conflicting messages in mind, that this course will explore children’s sexual behavior.

Please note, that this course contains some explicit sexual material.

This course is an introductory class in a series of classes on children’s sexual behavior. It is designed for individuals interested in exploring the subject of the complex nature of “normal” childhood sexual behavior, and understanding the dramatic cultural shifts affecting sexual development in children.

1. To define what is sexuality and what is normal childhood sexual behavior.



2. To understand how culture is shaping children’s sexuality.



3. To discuss sexual development and children’s play.



4. To understand what is the child sexual behavior inventory.



5. To review when sexual activity between children is a mandated report.