The Circumcision Discussion

Lamaze - his foreskin retracted on its own when he was about 10 months old. We have no choice but to wash. We knew better than to force it (remember, my husband is not circumcised and has been caring for a foreskin x 36 years now) but getting a 2yo boy to stop playing with it in the tub ("On...off. On....off.") is like asking him to stop breathing. Ain't gonna happen. He has so far not suffered any trauma.

I would really not use this as an argument for circumcision. The foreskin separates when it is ready, whether at 10 months or 10 years, or even 15 years. You can't make a flower bloom sooner than it will, and ditto for a foreskin.

BTW - They play with their penis in the bathtub whether they have a foreskin or not -


steph

No doubt about that!! Heck, they play with it when they're sick, well, hot, cold, circed, intact, whatever! I was just responding to the post that said my 2.5yo should not be retracting it and causing trauma.

I know - it is just funny . . .how soon they find their penis.


steph

I tell my new moms & dads at the hospital to give them about 6months, and it may not even take that long!!

That was true with all my sons.

steph

I want to preface my comments with the wish that no one take the viewpoint that I'm diss'g the poster. It's the view/opinion that irks me (not to a considerably angry amount). Also, it seems to me that student nurses need to look at how they arrive at their opinions and whether that is an accurate way to look at reasons for their decisions.

I really don't see what being a student nurse or anything about my background has to do with having an opinion about circumcision. My arguments and opinions should stand on their own (which I believe they do). A long time ago I stopped giving special credence to experts and professionals just because they call themselves an authority on a particular topic. Dr. Freedman used to give people lobotomies with an ice pick.

I'm no longer a student nurse. I've been a nurse for two years now. It's a second career for me. I'm 44 and have two sons. I have an academic background in philosophy and worked for over 10 years as a reporter prior to becoming a mom and then a nurse. My husband is Jewish and initially wanted to circumcise so we researched circumcision for well over six months, from every conceivable angle, before arriving at our decision not to circumcise our sons, despite my husband wanting them to identify as Jews.

I don't think my arguments are that outlandish or bizarre. I think the act of circumcision itself, the removal of a healthy part of an infant's body, without their consent, is actually a worse injury to them than the pain of circumcision because it is permanent. If someone said to me, you must make a choice, endure pain comparable to having your finger cut off without having your finger cut off, or have your finger magically removed without pain. Well, I'd keep the finger. My point is simply that people get so wrapped up in the pain issue, where circumcision is concerned, that they forget that the real issue is the permanent remove of part of a healthy body.

As far as walking in another person's shoes, I really can't. None of us can. Especially an infant since I know absolutely nothing about their viewpoints and preferences, because they don't have any. (Unlike say, an advanced directive.) The best I can do what I think is best for them based on my own experiences and trying to be as objective as I can and give them as much freedom as is feasible and responsible to make their own decisions. This means that I should err on the side of caution. If I was a man who was happy to be circumcised and believed that circumcision had been the best choice for me, I would hope that I still wouldn't circumcise my child because I have no idea what they would want. That would be like pre-paying my infant son's tuition at my alma mater and then insisting he go simply because it's a good school and I liked it.

We all make decisions for our children all the time, naturally, but during my research I just could not find convincing evidence that it was of a significant benefit to him. Mostly it just seemed like a perference and I didn't feel comfortable imposing my preference on my son. If he wants to get a circumcision once he is of an age to make that decision for himself, I would totally support him (hell, I'll even pay for it!).

And I would remove a tick from my child because a tick doesn't belong there, unlike his foreskin, which does belong there. If you believe that the male foreskin is like a tick, well, then, I guess you should remove it, but I think you're off-base there...

This comment gave me a laugh. I remember having an ultrasound for my 2nd son (now 18 yrs old) and asking what sex he was. I was told they couldn't tell because his hands were covering his genitals. I guess it does start early!

I hope that you're not suggesting that anyone else do that. If the child does it, he'd stop if it hurt - right? Some parents go a stroke too far, causing pain and possible scarring, in the interest of "cleanliness being next to Godliness........."

I don't think Elvish is referring to retracting the foreskin. I'm pretty sure she's just saying to give a male infant about six months and he'll discover every little boy's favorite toy. Lots more fun than toes.