My 3 yr old hurt his boy bits, and keeps wanting to tell everyone, Need advice!

[jd83]

So Friday night, we were finger painting some pictures for MIL's birthday which is this week. After that, I took the boys up to get baths to get cleaned up. My 3 yr old needed to go potty first, so he did, but normally I have a stool sitting in front of the toilet for him to use to get on and off the toilet. I had moved it for bath time, but I don't think he saw that I had moved it, so when he went to step off the potty, he just fell completely over onto the rug. I thought he was fine, just fell over, didn't even look like a bad fall at all. But then he stood up crying, and his bits were bleeding! I looked closer, and he had ripped the entire base part on the top, one side to the other! Looked only to be the skin layer, not deep, but I still freaked out and we rushed to the ER to get him looked at. THey said there wasn't anything they could do because they were afraid to glue it or stitch it, as that could further injure it when it stretches for peeing, etc. They just prescribed some antibiotic ointment to put on it to keep it from getting infected. He seems to be healing fine now, but is terrified of the toilet in that bathroom. I've put his potty seat in there for now until he stops being afraid. I feel so awful for him

So, now the problem I am having is that my son is extremely social and doesn't seem to understand what is acceptable conversation. He has been trying to tell everyone he sees all weekend long that he "tore his penis on the potty". I keep telling him he can't tell strangers about his boy parts, but then he still keeps doing it. Yesterday in church, he ran up to 4 different people and yelled it out before I could stop him. Which then had me having to explain what happened because they were giving me a what the heck happened look after hearing him say that. Any advice on how to better explain to him that this is not appropriate? I am getting nowhere with telling him he can't tell people besides family.

 

[suzib76]

I don't think it's any different to telling people he hurt his arm/leg/head

You don't owe anyone an explanation though, I would just laugh it off and say, yes you hurt yourself. It will literally take until he is healed for him to stop as he won't be thinking about it anymore.

 

[jd83]

I sure hope so! I'm just hoping we don't need too many public trips before it gets healed!

 

[meldmac]

Awww poor little guy! Hope he's feeling better soon!

 

[Eleanor ace]

Ouch, poor LO! Hope it heals up soon . I wouldn't be worried about him telling people, it's nothing to be secretive about and any adult who gets offended by the word penis is just odd!

 

[jd83]

I wasn't worried really about it offending others; I guess I personally was finding it embarassing, but I'm pretty private in general in real life. He definitely takes more after his daddy with the outgoingness, and willingness to talk to anyone about every little thing. I haven't really offered any explanation to strangers we don't know that he says it to, for example him telling people in the grocery store or at soccer practice. I just pulled him aside and told him he needed to not tell people that are stangers. But then he started telling people at church, who are not strangers. So then i had to further elaborate and tell him to please stop telling people who were not family. Then he got upset and cried, so I'm just not sure what to do. I know its nothing to be ashamed of, its just an injury, but at the same time with the area involved I just felt its really more of something that he shouldn't be randomly telling everyone. I don't know....Maybe I'm making more of a big dieal of him telling people than it actually is, but I do tend to get embarassed about things like that pretty easily if its brought up in public like that.

 

[suzib76]

I would definitely just laugh and say yes you hurt yourself, now let's go and see/do.......

 

[seoj]

I would agree not to worry much hun- I know maybe it's not the norm injury, but, if he broke his arm I'm sure he'd want to tell everyone too-- just how kids are (very honest). I wouldn't be offended at all if a 3yr old boy told me that. I'd prob have to give the parent a "knowing" look- since kids that age just like to blab

If it makes you feel any better- when my SD was a big toddler- my hubby got full custody of her-- and she was also VERY outgoing and would tell anyone that would listen how she lived with her Daddy full time and he won her in court! My hubby just didn't even try to stop her after a while-- she was a force to be reckoned with