Mooning

Anybody else's kids doing this?

My guys picked this up about a month ago. :/ I tried Sooooo hard to respond without over-reacting (and thus giving them lots of attention for a behavior I don't want repeated) by my 4yo is nobody's fool, and he can sense, I think, that I *really* don't want him to do it. So when he's not getting the attention he wants from me, he typically starts a game of moon-and-run, and my 2yo happily joins it.

It was bound to happen in public at some point... that would be today at the park when my 2yo mooned this very nice lady and her kids on the playground. I apologized, picked him up and took him to the picnic table to sit with me for a few minutes (at home the rule is that if you show your bottom you have to sit on it) and then walked back and tried to "help" him say he was sorry. He just said "no."

I'm dreading the day it happens in front of my parents. I still remember my Mom proudly recounting the story of how my cousin was so livid when her little boy did this and swooped in to pop his bottom before he could pull his pants up, adding on a vehement "don't you EVER do that again!" :/

Any suggestions for workign through this...? I'm fumbling around for how to approach this in a teaching way.

I've been talking about showing respect for others, and how showing our bottoms is considered insulting and makes people feel uncomfortable. Also that our bodies are private and need to stay covered when other people are around. Is there a different approach I should be taking? Should I be responding in a different way when they do it (other than "when you show your bottom, you have to sit on it")?


My 4yo internalized the fact that I want his bottom covered, and has experimented with "wagging" it but not pulling his pants down. (ever the loop-hole finder! ) I wasn't sure whether to thank him for not pulling them down or correct him for wagging it...

uuuummm overalls? suspenders? I have no idea but it kind of made me laugh sorry

[Mothering by Heart]

My DS does this and he is 7 :/ so I am

uuuummm overalls? suspenders?

my initial response to this was that it won't work b/c my 2yo won't be able to get them off and go to the bathroom by himself and he'll pee in his pants. (I've had to put away some pants that have a really tight elastic waistband for this very reason)

HOwever.... I'm thinking this might not be a bad idea for places like the playground, where I have to accompany him to the bathroom anyway. And I'm making a mental note to put overalls on him when my parents are here this weekend. Thank you!!

My DS does this and he is 7

Oh... no. Nuh-nuh-no. Please don't tell me that.
Well, I actually sort of *expect* it to resurface when he gets around school-age boys. I remember jr. high school, after all. :/ but I'm hoping it won't be a continuous thing that persists from now until then.

[MarynMunchkins]

I don't know, but that struck me as really funny.

Sorry...

[Beyond Blessed]

I'm dealing with it too - my boys are 6.5 and 8. They are *all* about their privacy until, of course, they want to moon us. I immediately react with how that is a private area and we don't need to see it. Calmly. I also tell them later that they are setting an example for their sister showing her private areas to people. (Yeah, 3yo dd is doing it - but taking it further - she turns frontward and says look at my vagina ). I see this as a stage. Hate it. But I don't really think I can stop it.

[greenemama]

mine does this. i try to restrict nakedness to his bedroom.

(Yeah, 3yo dd is doing it - but taking it further - she turns frontward and says look at my vag*na ).

yeah, they were doing the forward version one day.

Then, of course, there was the time that ds1 (who was still 3 at the time) proudly proclaimed to our new neighbor that boys have p*nises, and then proceeded to both show his.

And then. (you thought it was over, huh?)

Then he checked to see if our new neighbor had one, too.

I almost died on the spot. He has no inhibitions whatsoever. personal space.. ?? What's that?

[Beyond Blessed]

Originally Posted by palil

I almost died on the spot. He has no inhibitions whatsoever. personal space.. ?? What's that?

Yours are still quite young - *and* proud. Remember, this is pretty age appropriate and therefor most likely a stage you need to figure out how to deal with. But they'll grow out of it - maybe to only go through it again at a later age, but ahhhhh, boys - they keep us on our toes! Though my dd does as well.

but ahhhhh, boys - they keep us on our toes! roll eyes Though my dd does as well. wink

yup... I remember being so glad I got a girl because of the crazy things I saw little boys do... um yeah, girls do those things too!

Yes, it is a stage. I wish I knew how to get out of it. DS isn't mooning, but he is showing off his front, and pretty proudly too. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea when he was potty training to encourage him to show his grandparents his 'big boy' underwear. It hasn't been the same since. Or maybe we are just still in that stage. He hasn't done it in a week or so, but only because word got out (chain of command at church) and the nursery director spoke to me. DS sounded embarressed when I mentioned that she told me.