How did you address your son's...um..growth?

How did you approach the sensitive subject with your son and am I doing the right thing?

My son Jack and I have been on our own for a couple of years now and all things considered, we are doing pretty good. When we lost my husband, his father, my biggest concern was Jack and growing up without a father. I have done my best to be a good mom and also ensure that he has had some positive male role models to learn from. Fortunately my brother has been very involved with Jack and I couldn't imagine anyone, aside from his father, being as good of a role model as his uncle.

Ok now that I have told the easy part, I will get to why I am here. Jack has done a lot of growing over the last year and he doesn't fully realize that he is, shal I say, gifted. I am for the first time unsure of how to talk to him about something. He is a very modest young man and I don't think he realizes just yet that he is well endowed. I don't want to want him to ever feel ashamed of his body but I also need to explain why he may have to take certain precautions at certain times depending on where he is and who is around.

How do I tell him that mommy loves his hugs, but maybe not from behind in the morning or that he shouldn't wear white shorts when going in the pool or bathing the dog outfront with the garden hose? I think I know what most will say and that is just be honest and upfront about it and I will agree. I think just getting on here and writing this has given me the nerve to have the talk. I would still appreciate any feedback from any experience you may have with the topic. Thanks in advance.

Sounds like a possible troll post, however I’ll offer a response anyway. You don’t need to discuss your child’s genitals with him directly because the real issues seem to be that he needs to learn age-appropriate body boundaries and change his clothing style. The first issue (body boundaries) is that if he’s an adolescent, he shouldn’t be giving tight full-body hugs to anyone except maybe a romantic partner. So just tell him that he’s getting older and that adults usually feel more comfortable with waist-up or side hugs. About the clothes, it’s not the color of the material, it’s that they are too tight fitting now. Tell him you noticed his shorts seem to be getting a bit small and you’ll take him shopping to buy some new ones which will be looser and more comfortable. See, no need to talk about any specific body part.

Ignore the troll.