Development of sexuality is a part of the development and maturation of children. It includes a range of sensory, emotional, and consequent sexual activities that may occur before or during early puberty, but before full sexual maturity is established. The development of child sexuality and the perception of child sexuality by adults is influenced by social and cultural aspects. The concept of child sexuality also played an important role in psychoanalysis.
Sexual development
Before puberty
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network issued a report in 2009 on child sexual development in the United States. The report asserted that children have a natural curiosity about their own bodies and the bodies of others that ought to be addressed in an age-appropriate manner. According to the report: Children less than four years old will sometimes touch their own private parts or look at the private parts of others. Between ages four and six, some children may become more actively curious, attempting to see others dressing or undressing or will perhaps "play doctor". Between ages six and twelve, children may start to expand their curiosity to images of undressed people available in the media. They may develop a need for privacy regarding their own bodies and begin to be sexually attracted to peers. The report recommended that parents learn what is normal in regard to nudity and sexuality at each stage of a child's development and refrain from overreacting to their children's nudity-related behaviors unless there are signs of a problem (e.g. anxiety, aggression, or sexual interactions between children not of the same age or stage of development).
Some children partake in genital stimulation at an early age. Those with penises may lie on their stomachs and those with vulvas may sit and rock. Manual stimulation occurs about the time of adolescence, and mutual masturbation or other sexual experimentation between adolescents of similar ages may also occur, though cultural or religious coercion may inhibit or encourage concealment of such activity if there is negative peer pressure or if authority figures are likely to disapprove.
From the ages of three to seven, the following behaviors are occasionally seen among children: Children are curious about where babies come from. Children may explore other children's and adults' bodies out of curiosity. Children begin to have a sense of learned modesty and of the differences between private and public behaviors. For some children, genital touching increases, especially when they are tired or upset.
Early school age covers approximately ages five to seven, and masturbation is possible at these ages. Children become more aware of gender differences, and tend to choose same-sex friends and playmates, sometimes disparaging the opposite sex. Children may drop their close attachment to their opposite-sex parent and become more attached to their same-sex parent.
During this time, children, especially girls, show increased awareness of social norms regarding sex, nudity, and privacy. Children may use sexual terms to test adult reaction. "Bathroom humor" (jokes and conversation relating to excretory functions), present in earlier stages, continues.
"Middle childhood" covers the ages from about six to eleven; depending on the methodology and the behavior being studied, individual development varies considerably.
As this stage progresses, the choices of children picking same-sex friends becomes more marked and extends to disparagement of the opposite sex.
By the age of 8 or 9, some children become aware that sexual arousal is a specific type of erotic sensation and will seek these pleasurable experiences through various sights, self-touches, and fantasy.
Although there are variations between individual children, children are generally curious about their bodies and those of others and explore their bodies through explorative sex play. "Playing doctor" is one example of such childhood exploration; such games are generally considered to be normal in young children. Child sexuality is considered fundamentally different from adult sexual behavior, which is more goal-driven. Among children, genital penetration and oral-genital contact are very uncommon, and may be perceived as imitations of adult behaviors. Such behaviors are more common among children who have been sexually abused.