circumcision

Get the lad circumcised - my son had the problem for a while, then when he was a teenager he got circumcised at the local hospital. Problem over.

His little brother decided that he wanted the op too, asked the doc for a referral (fibbing that his foreskin hurt sometimes) and was most pleased with his 'new look'!

I was offered the option for them when they were babies, but said no. But once it became apparent that the op was needed I never hesitated.

My son had a very tight foreskin as a child. We had a particularly horrible GP who loosened it forcibly when my DS was about 8. It still gives me nightmares to think about it. But DS has had no problems since, and I certainly wouldn't advocate circumcision unless it is necessary for medical reasons. Many little boys have tight foreskins and they loosen at very different ages. It doesn't meant they need to be routinely removed. What would we say if there was a suggestion little girls should have their hymens broken? Children's bodies should be allowed to develop naturally.

My ds had problems when he was small, and then was circumcised when he was late teens.
My first ex was circumcised too, but it should have been his neck.

Personally, and from a woman's point of view I prefer a circumcised one. My ex wasn't and like Lona says if he was it should have been his neck. Good one Lona.

Circumcision is the norm in the states. I feel the decision at times is only made so a child isn't different from his father or friends.

My sister got her husband to get circumcised, when she found that the partners of circumcised men had a lower incidence of cervical cancer. They thought the Jewish diet had summat to do with Jewish women getting fewer cases of that cancer, but it was eventually determined (sorry - have long forgotten the research) that a circumcised partner offers a degree of protection.

My lads were both very pleased with their 'new look'.

But I still don't regret refusing to have them circumcised as babies - it seemed cruel to me, and too much danger of error with a baby's small penis.

We saw his peadeatrician on Thursday morning and he still wasn't sure so DD and SIL went to see a consultant Urologist on Saturday morning, he said he has an enlarged glans, he did a scan as well as DD has one kidney twice the size of the other one and SIL has an extra metre and a half of intestine. All was normal for the internal organs, so it is now for DD and SIL to decide which way to go.

My DDH when sedated and asleep with pneumonia had fluid retention. The nurse looked under his sheet and whispered to me 'He has testicles like grape-fruits (I didn't know this was a medical term) Luckily they returned to normal and he was non the wiser. (until I told him)

Um my cousin was circumcised as a teenager to deal with the health problems mentioned. He was quite happy with the necessity, the result and never had any concerns about it.

Having said this I think it is important to consider that making decisions over somebody else's body is not something to take likely. There are some men who deeply regret the decision taken by their parents to be circumcised and there are even surgical procedure to try to recover a lost foreskin - which suggests that there those for whom circumcision wasn't without problems.

I would be horrified if anyone suggested surgical removal of vaginal labia in girls because it "looked nicer", was "cleaner and more hygienic" and "avoided the risk of health problems later." Are we at risk of a double standard?

The impact of "Looking different" is not something to underestimate and some boys are more self conscious than others. If you have had to make this decision on behalf of a child and never suffered a moment's hesitation or doubt then you are in a good position to raise a well adjusted child. If on the other hand you are unsure which of two options to take, I would suggest that you might feel a little conflicted over whether you made the "right" decision and your child might pick up on your anxiety.

Personally, I would go for full circumcision, but if male family members were a little unsure I would back off. It's all about supporting the parents to make the best decision that they can for their family and being respectful of differing viewpoints.

Looking different would not be a major problem here, we live in the city and the school he starts at next september at 2and a half, has a high proportion of Moslem children, so he would fit in fine.
It is of course not my decision to make it is his parents, and is discussed with me.
They see the consultant Urologist again next Saturday morning, we don't have a problem seeing specialists here, no waiting lists as such.
His pediatrician will also be there so they can have a good discussion together.
As I said in an earlier post my EX is circumcised and spoke to his Mother and the problem DGS has seems to be similar to the problems X had and it got very bad. They lived in SA and she felt the heat didn't help either, no problems that way here !!!!!!!

When my DS was at nursery school in an area of London with a large Jewish population. He asked me why some boys had "patterns" on their penis's
That would be very complicated to explain to a very little boy, somehow he or we came up with "for decoration". A cop out I know but he seemed happy with that.