Uncircumcised boy care

I feel like this has been an unending battle for me and probably others too but... I still am so unsure about how and when to care for my 2.5 yr olds uncircumcised penis. Other people in his life (not medical professionals) keep saying we need to pull the skin back and clean under it, but it hurts him. He doesn't like it at all. All the research I've done say to leave it alone until it's "easily retractable". Like, there is a small opening but it's still kind of tight and my sin cries if I mess with it. I'm just so confused and wondering if any other mamas are confident and know what to do. I don't know what it supposed to look like when it's ready to retract and pull back to clean. And of course there's no pictures or videos on the internet cause it's inappropriate😭 so I'm just lost lol

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There’s no need or reason for you to ever retract it. Your son will retract it when he’s older and it’s comfortable for him. Clean it as if you were cleaning ur thumb and don’t do anything that’s hurting him.
Also don’t listen to people who aren’t doctors or nurses LOL they always have too much to say with no sense

*You* should never be retracting it to clean it, unless he still needs you to bathe him at like age 10. It’s a little weird that other people are so preoccupied with his penis…

Thank you for asking I've only had girls but worried about this for a boy.

@Lily I agree, it’s coming from people who don’t have uncircumcised sons. My ex mother-in-law told me to pull his skin back to clean it and I asked her, “Didn’t you circumcise both of your sons…?” They’re idiots and shouldn’t be giving advice.

@Ariel yeah it's hard cause his dad is circumcised and I don't have any brothers. My dad is too so I feel like I have no examples to turn to😭 and the person who was telling me to pull the skin back wouldn't tell me whether he is or isn't😒

My son is circumcised and that was the only scenario they said to pull it back to clean it and that was only suggested for the healing process! As long as you’re washing it and wiping every time he pees I think he should be okay!

Thank you so much that is so helpful!! Thanks to all you ladies!!!

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@Andrea how to?

Do not pull back the skin. It’s attached like a fingernail to your finger and will cause pain and can cause those ripping which can then cause infections.
It’s an outdated idea and that’s why intact boys were getting infections. It wasn’t from being intact; it was from retraction. We now know not to do that.
The foreskin slowly detaches on its own around puberty (on average, sometimes earlier or later) and the boy can retract himself at that time.

I don't have a boy but I have 2 brothers and my husband and his 2 brothers are all uncircumcised so i did ask all this before i knew gender lol. You do not need to pull back for YEARS. But that doesn't mean never! Once he's old enough to be washing himself, he can learn to do it slowly and a little every day. By the time he begins puberty around 12, it needs to be able to go back because if not it hurts a lot (BIL did have to deal with infection and adhesion that needed to be snipped as a teen)

I have a 2.5 year old uncircumcised boy and i just gently wash over his penis with mild unscented soap but i do not scrub it hard, retract it, or try to clean the hole or the inside at all. We have never had any problem with it becoming dirty or anything. The foreskin will start to retract when they are older around puberty! Or a little before puberty. I heard that is when you need to show them how to clean it well because in the process, things might get ‘stuck’ between the skin that is not totally peeled. But at this age, there is nothing to retract. Doing so will only expose the inside of the urethra (where the pee comes out). I know a friend who tried to retract and clean her 2 year old son’s penis and it actually caused irritation and she said she was starting to see yellow pus on the baby’s penis. So it’s not necessary to do that and could even be irritating

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