PSYCHO-SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT

Freud's Psychosexual Stages of Development:

1. ORAL (birth to 1-2 years old) - sexual pleasure is gratified primarily through the mouth via suckling. If one did not satisfy all of one's needs in this stage, one might develop a "oral-focussed" habits later in life, such as over-eating, drinking problems, smoking, etc ... as well as issues related to dependency upon others.
2. ANAL (1-2 to 3 years old) - sexual pleasure is gratified primarily through the retention of waste and it's expulsion at the appropriate times (potty training). If one did not satisfy this stage well, they might develop into an anal retentive person, fussy, fastidious, orderly, stingy, stubborn. Or they might go to the opposite extreme, becoming anal expulsive, being messy and disorganized, etc.
3. PHALLIC (3 to 5 - 6 years old - sexual pleasure is gratified primarily through (self-) stimulation of the genitals. It is in this period of development in which boys must contend with the Oedipus Complex and a fear of castration while girls must contend with the Elektra Complex and penis envy. If this stage is not satisfactory, the person is likely to have difficulty with intimacy and intimate relationships.
4. LATENCY PERIOD (5 or 6 - puberty) - During this period the libido is dormant and there is no sexual interest of any sort (which we now know is not true, the child is still curious about sex and continue to masturbate or experiment).
5. GENITAL (puberty - ) - Adulthood and normal sexual contact and gratification.

excerpts from:https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/plenz/www/introFilesF07/chapter12.html

I barely remember my subject psychology, with my young and cool professor whom we can talk to as we're friends, and most of all, I love how psychology  is so involve in our lives, and how I, myself experienced many studies of it, unlike math, I didn't encountered anything on the mall or having a grocery and counting my expenses through algebra.

and now, another psychological study came to me with a bang! not just as a person but being a Mom and a parent. this kind of development we're going through as I remember falls in line with PSYCHO-SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT, I experienced it also as a child, and got complications cause my thumb sucking last until i was 19 years old and pregnant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosexual_development

my son just turned 3 last December 31,2011. these past few weeks, I observed that he always uses my blanket which is bigger than his and hide under it for a long time. whenever I ask him if what is he doing under it, he said he's hiding, he sometimes locked the door in our room, and one time he did it again beside me, I went under the blanket to check him and asked how everything underneath's working? he said "Mom,like this!" and he showed me, he squeezed his legs together, and his hands are folded, he's silently concentrating on something he squeezes, I even acted like imitating him to show him that it's nothing to hide cause mommy can do it too, I told him to get out of the bed cause it's so hot over there, and he follows me. 

I've read that toddlers who do this are occasionally masturbate or explore their genitals indicates some stress in areas of their life.

I know all of us get stressed too, but I'm trying to find a way to make my son's world not too stressful. I hope that helps, this is not a problem, the problems is on how me and my husband should react, cause we know, whatever reaction he may see on our faces has a big influence on how he will grow up, it's not a bad thing to do but a wrong reaction may lead him to a shameful feeling in his sexuality. me and my husband were just smiling cause that's our reaction, we even laugh when we see him squeezes his legs in full force.

I told it to his dad last night and he saw it too, It's just weird seeing your own child exploring things,his genitals, though I know that's normal and all I have to watch is on how we respond to his behaviors, I can't help but feel pity on my son and I get so emotional cause my baby boy finally shows something emotional, not just about crying over a candy bar, or a toy, but the pleasurable emotions you get on your genitals for him who is so small.