Thank you so much for your response to "Puzzled", whose 4-year-old daughter repeatedly masturbated on the furniture. I, too, had this "hobby" as a very young girl, but being raised in a strict religious household, my parents were horrified. They took me to doctors to see what was wrong with me, and became very angry when catching me "in the act". If only someone had told them that it was a natural, if rare, occurance, and to not punish me for doing something that only felt good to me. As a result, for years I was convinced I was a freak, that I'd never have children, that my sex life would be ruined, and that there was something physically wrong with me. If only it had been openly discussed, without guilt and with open minds. Thank you for teaching me that I am not the only one, and for fostering acceptance.

...and that is, forget religion. People spend so much time thinking of how to avoid the devil, they become what they fear.

Monkey see monkey do.

I was raised in a Christian family and my mom taught me that masturbation was a perfectly normal thing to do. I was also taught that sex was a gift given by God and that it wasn't a dirty word or something done only for procreation.

Just saying.