When does sexuality start?
Your sexuality begins when you are born. You feel warmth, closeness, bodily contact and sensation. You suck your mother's breast and your thirst is quenched and your hunger satisfied. Many mothers know that baby boys often get erections while they are nursing them. But sexuality does not exist only in the genitals. It is part of everything surrounding you and who you are.

Children are sexual beings in the same way that teenagers, adults and the elderly are sexual beings. Sexuality just manifests itself differently at different ages.

During their first years in life, infants frequently develop a special kind of movement with their pelvis by tightening the muscles. This movement appears to give them pleasure and is followed by a period of relaxation. It can occur several times a day and is perhaps most noticeable with healthy and confident children who are probably the ones most interested in masturbation anyway.

When does masturbation start?
Many boys begin to touch and caress their sexual organs regularly when they are six or seven years old and by the time they reach puberty more than half of all boys have tried to masturbate - either on their own or through play with their friends.

Girls tend to begin to masturbate later in life, even though many little girls are quite curious about their genitals. Around the time that girls reach puberty, they may begin to masturbate but often this does not occur till much later in their teens - or even 20s.

While 80 per cent of all boys have masturbated frequently by the time they are 16, only half that percentage of 16-year-old girls have masturbated. But some studies show that by the time they reach the age of 20, 80 per cent of girls masturbate.

It is believed that 25 per cent of people in their 70s may masturbate though there are few reliable surveys of older people.

At what age does sexual intercourse start?
By the time they reach the age of 25, the vast majority of people will have experienced sexual intercourse - heterosexual or homosexual.

Only a very small percentage of men and women remain virgins throughout their lives.

The age at which sexual intercourse first occurs has dropped during the last few decades. While figures vary from country to country, it is thought that in the UK girls are likely to have sex for the first time at a younger age than boys. About a third of all boys and girls have had sex by the age of 16. About another third has had sexual intercourse by the time they have reached 18, and most of the rest will have sex in the following three to four years.

How often do most people have sex?
Many people brag and exaggerate about their sexual lives. As a result a lot of youngsters feel totally lost because they think that everybody else their age is having a wild and intense sex life with lots of different partners.

The truth is that throughout their lives most people will only have a few sexual partners - maybe five. Some don't have that many, but a few have much more than that.

Younger adults are likely to have sex at least two to three times a week.

After 50 it is more likely to be once a week or less.

When are you too old to have sex?
Men and women continue to have a satisfying sex life when they get older. If a person feels like it, there is no reason why sex should not continue into the 70s or 80s. There are no limits, providing the desire is there for both partners.

BACK

How to give up smoking

The documents contained in this web site are presented for information purposes only. The material is in no way intended to replace professional medical care or attention by a qualified practitioner. The materials in this web site cannot and should not be used as a basis for diagnosis or choice of treatment. Conditions for use