The Sexual Life of Children (Hardcover)

~ Floyd M. Martinson (Author) "Children are active and sensual, even before they are born..." (more)
Key Phrases: child sexual development, protection paradigm, genital play, United States, New York, Christian Right (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“...will give readers a good background in this still largely unresearched area of human sexuality. The overall themes that come through in chapter after chapter of the book are that children are sexual beings from birth, and they will develop their sexual life from influences around them.”–SIECCAN Newsletter

Product Description

This book traces the development of sexuality in the child from the prenatal, through birth and up to puberty and adolescence. Very little has been written about children's sexuality in spite of a large literature on child abuse. Western society has been slow to recognize sexual experiences and conceptualizations as an important part of a child's development. This is the only work that has been written in a frank and open manner about the many sexual encounters that children have on a daily basis as part of their normal psychological development. Martinson's study is unique in that children speak for themselves in telling about their explorations, confusions, fears, and satisfactions. The book traces the life of children in their day-to-day encounters as they grow and develop. It complements and rounds out Robert Coles's important works on The Moral Life of Children, The Political Life of Children, and The Spiritual Life of Children.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 168 pages
• Publisher: Bergin & Garvey (April 30, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089789376X
• ISBN-13: 978-0897893763
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,873,873 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful discussion of difficult topic, June 20, 2002

By	Chrysanthi Leon (Berkeley, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I recommend this book to parents and to those interested in the sociology of childhood or of sexuality.
Martinson does a great job of sharing and analyzing the limited data available to us about normative sexual development.
I was uncomfortable with the concept of child sexuality at first, but as I read I came to understand that sexuality is a continuum. Of course you don't wake up at 16 as a "sexual being"--rather, your knowledge and beliefs about your body, your relationships, and your emotions all develop from birth.
We may question individual conclusions about what is "sexual," but we all can benefit from thinking about how children learn about sexuality.