In early childhood, children begin serious exploration of their bodies. It is during this period that children are usually toilet trained, and they go through a period of intense interest in their genitals and bodily wastes. They begin to ask the first, basic questions about sex, usually about why boys and girls have different genitals […]

Children continue to develop physically, and in early childhood they begin to under­stand what it means to be a boy or girl. Curiosity still is the basis for their sexuality dur­ing this time. Children also learn that their genitals are private during these years, and they often begin to associate sexuality with secrecy. Physical Development: […]

In infancy, the child’s body is busy making sure all of his or her or­gans work and learning to control them. The sexual system is no exception. Male babies sometimes have erections during breast­feeding (which can be very disconcerting to the mother), whereas girls have clitoral erections and lubrication (though that is less likely to […]

Physical Development: Fully Equipped at Birth Our sexual anatomy becomes functional even before we are born; ultrasound has shown male fetuses with erections in the uterus, and some babies develop erections shortly after birth—even before the umbilical cord is cut (Masters et al., 1982). Female babies are ca­pable of vaginal lubrication from birth (Martinson, 1981). […]

Studying Childhood Sexuality Beginnings: Birth to Age 2 Physical Development: Fully Equipped at Birth Psychosexual Development: Bonding and Gender Identification Sexual Behavior: Curiosity Early Childhood: Ages 2 to 5 Physical Development: Mastering Coordination Psychosexual Development: What It Means to Be a Girl or Boy Sexual Behavior: Curiosity and Responsibility Sexual Knowledge and Attitudes: Sex Is […]

Because love also entails risk, dependency to some degree, and a strong connection be­tween people, there is always the danger that the strength of the bond can be used by one partner to manipulate the other. Abusive love relationships exist when one partner tries to increase his or her own sense of self-worth or to […]

Being in love can produce a sense of ecstasy, euphoria, and a feeling of well-being, much like a powerful drug. In fact, when a person is in love, his or her body releases the drug phenylethylamine, which produces these feelings (Sabelli et al., 1996). (Phenylethylamine is also present in chocolate, which may be why we […]

Jealousy is a common experience in intimate relationships. Imagine you are at a party with a person with whom you are in an exclusive, sexual relationship. You notice that person standing close to someone else, talking and laughing, and occasionally putting his or her hand on the other person’s arm. At one point, you notice […]

To trust another is an act of courage because it grants that person the power to hurt or disappoint you. However, intimacy requires trust. Usually trust develops slowly. You trust your partner a little bit at the beginning of your relationship and begin to trust him or her more and more as he or she […]

We discussed in Chapter 6 how true communication begins with listening. Nothing shows you care about another person quite as much as your full attention. Who is more of a bore than a person who talks only of him — or herself, who sees any comment made by another person primarily in terms of how […]