a little survey - circumcision?

[Sadie]

Without being biased or judgmental or anything else one reading this might assume... I was hoping to get an informal survey of people to post whether or not they circumcised their sons (without giving reasons for or against doing so). I am just curious! And, to be the first, I did not.

UPDATE - I was hoping for just some yes or no answers... I just checked this discussion after not reading it for a while. Seems to have gotten a little heated and/or weird. So, I am closing it. Thanks for the responses!

[Jes]

We did, for the standard religious reasons. If not for that, I think we would have skipped it.

[Ron Low]

HIS body, HIS decision.

[Anne]

That was our opinion too.

[Jenny]

We did not circumcise either of our boys. My husband is, and thought I was a little odd to suggest not doing it. I told him it was his decision but during my pregnency kept dropping remarks and reading sections outloud about how it was medically unnecessary, etc. The day our first son was born, my husband was holding him when the dr. came in and asked if we wanted him circumcised. He looked down at that tiny helpless baby and said 'no way.'

Also, I'm curious: we live in Nebraska and I don't know any other baby boys who aren't. I would be interested to know how the numbers are represented geographically. There is definitely not a 50-50 split in our community!

[Sadie]

Of the six friends I have that have sons (and that I know the business of their sons' parts - I know that sounds weird), three of them did not circumcise. But I don't think that is common. Maybe it's just that my friends are similar to each other.

[The Griscom Volkman Family]

The statistics I have seen show that the percentage of boys who are not circumcised has risen dramatically in the last couple decades. At our hospital in New York, most nurses and doctors recommended not doing it. We deliberated up to the last minute ... i called my wife's ex-boyfriend who was not circumcised to confirm that everthing worked ok.

A the end of the day I think both sides tend to overstate their positions -- i am circumcised, and the last thing i would wish on my son is more "sensitivity." But i do find chaffing to be an issue when walking sometimes, and it seems quite logical to me that we evolved to have little turtlenecks.

The hygiene and disease issue strikes me as real one in third world countries, but not so much in our environment. We therefore concluded that circumcision is basically cosmetic surgery, and opted not to do it.

[Anime]

I have a girl but I think I wouldn't do it since it is an optional procedure (not religious) and you'd have to pay more to do it for cosmetic reasons mainly. As far as hygiene, all kids need to learn to wash themselves eventually! I think most people who aren't Jewish probably do it so the boys look the same as Dad. I am really not sure how my husband feels about it since we've never had to discuss.

[Sarah Ebner]

We didn't circumcise Auden.

[Siobhan]

I didn't circumcise my son- My husband's Granny was not too happy about that.

[Mike]

Both of my boys are cut. I saw a comment, "his body, his decision" that makes me laugh. I used to work with a woman who told me she didn't want to inflict her will upon her children and that they can make the decision when they're older. First, who is going to make that decision when they're 16 or 18 years old? Second, and more importantly - who doesn't inflict their will upon their children? Are you going to inflict your will upon him by making him say grace before dinner? Are you going to chose his kindergarten? Gimme a break.

[Hugh7]

"...who is going to make that decision when they're 16 or 18 years old?" Who indeed, or later? (Some do, but very few.) And that's an excellent reason for not pre-empting his decision. We inflict our will on children when it's necessary for their health and safety. Circumcision is neither - three out of four men in the world are not circumcised, and have few problems. (Here in New Zealand it used to be nearly universal. Now the only people who do it are Pacific Islanders, for cultural reasons, and nobody else is any the worse for having all they were born with.) Unlike other such inflictions, this one permanently reduces his body for the rest of his life - 4/5 of which he will spend out of our care, so his opinion does count.

(Do you make your children say grace against their will? If they're not grateful, isn't that teaching hypocrisy?)

[Anne]

There's a big difference between "inflicting your will" and making a decision to cut a piece of skin.