sweep

recently, in in the recent past, one of my nephews (aged 9) has been engaged in some questionable behaviours. There have been two occasions where he has 'ordered' his friends to strip another kid: one girl and one boy. On one occasion, it has been rumoured, that my nephew tried to strip a girl of his own hand. He fights with girls sometimes and, in one instance, he had been kicking a girl in the vagina and had caused bruising.

Is this 'normal' behaviour for a child. Are these bad signs, and, if so, what should be done to stop this behaviour before it gets out of hand?

yelyos

A similar thing happened to me 8 years ago, at the age of 5. I was pressured in a kingdergarden class into stripping and viewed it as a perfectly normal activity. However I was not aware of the social taboos on nudity and I didn't understand the teacher's reaction when she walked in to find me naked.

For the stripping, I think that if somebody teaches this child what sexuality is and the taboos placed on sexuality, the situation should resolve itself.

As for the fighting, fights do break out between 9 year olds and without a knowledge of sexuality there is no reason for a boy not to fight with a girl. People don't discriminate based on gender until they learn discrimination.

The Other Michael

sweep,

Since you are looking for help in dealing with the child's behavior this looks like it is something that will fit better in Secular Lifestyle & Support, so I'm moving it there.

cheers,
Michael
MF&P Moderator, First Class