Hi I'm a mum of 3, 2 girls & 1 boy. We are a very loving, affectionate and honest family. We frequently tell one other "I love you" and always kiss good morning, good night, before school, after school etc. I love sitting down with my children and have a cuddle on the couch. Recently my 8 year old son has become a little to interested in the work "sex" and tells me he hears it in the play ground a lot. He asks me the meaning of it (which I'm sure he has been told by his friends to) but I tell him it is an adult topic and he will find out when he is old enough, through school and my husband and I will talk to him.
He watches how my husband and I kiss each other and have a cuddle. When he comes into our beroom in the morning to say hello he now comes over to my side and tries to lay on top of me for a cuddle (on top of my quilt) and I have to say "darling, you can lay next to me but not on top". He also pinched my bottom as I walked into the other room the other day and I had to tell him that it was inappropriate. He said "He was only joking". Which I knew he was but it is starting to make me feel a little weird inside. Sometimes if we are having a cuddle on the couch he drapes one leg over my legs and cuddles really close. It makes me feel a little weird that his privates are near my leg. So I move him away. Which upsets me because if it were my 4 year old daughter I wouldn't feel that way. I know its all very innocent and I love my son unconditionally, more than anything. Is it normal for a mother to start to feel like this as there son is growing older?

I think the time for your talk with your son about sex is here.

Especially since sex proliferates almost every aspect of our lives and we get bombarded by it from the media because it is effective in drawing attention.

This is bound to accelerate sexual awareness in children which I think makes it essential to find simple but truthful answers about sex to kids as soon as they start asking.

I believe it takes away the curiosity that is created when a child is told it is for adults and they can't even know or talk about it.

I know that was my inspiration to start into the forbidden world of sex , and fired the thoughts of why boys and girls were not alike . And I knew then the difference had to be something about sex.

I think I was about 8 or 9 at the time, before we were constantly subjected to it by TV. Almost before TV now I think about it.

If the mystery is taken away and the subject not forbidden , the facination is diminished and it turns into a more of a biology class.
Which would be better than playground kama sutra my generation started to learn from.

I have an almost 8 year old. And I have to say I am a little creeped out that YOU are associating your son behavior as sexual, and are concerned because his privates are too close to you. He is a child. Why would sexual issues even cross your mind here? My daughter has ALWAYS been like this. Gender makes no difference at this age. It has nothing to do with sex.

And please have the talk with him. Even at 8 years old you can have an honest, 8 year old level discussion about the birds and the bees.

And please please do not let hiim grow up thinking sex is bad or a dirty little secret.

I agree with Martinizing, if your son is hearing things in the playground that are making him curious and confused, and is asking you to explain, now is the time for a sensible, sensitive chat on sex. You only need to deal with as much as he is asking about in a way suited to his age.

There are plenty of good books that you can share with him if you need help. Have a shop around until you find one you are comfortable with.

As for the body language that is making you uncomfortable I would dissuade it without making it an issue. If my son had tried to lay ontop of me I would have said,'oof,you're squashing me,' and manoevered him into a better position for a hug. A bottom pinch would have been met with,'ow, it's not very polite to pinch a lady's bottom you know.' You can deliver this in such a way as to give just the right amount of dissapproval (not too much since I would only be reminding him of his manners) without making it a big deal or making him feel bad if you use the right tone of voice.

If he regularly displayed really overt sexual behaviour that would need meeting more head on, but that doesn't seem to be the case as far as I can tell.