There is the further problem that genital arousal may occur as an involuntary reflex, without conscious pleasure-seeking on behalf of the child: male children often have an erection at the moment of their birth, and a wide range of stimuli – such as the rhythmic movement of a train – can induce an unsought genital response, which may or may not be experienced as sufficiently pleasurable for the child to attempt to reproduce the feeling by self-stimulation.

I believe it is meaningful to talk about a child's 'sexual behaviour' in relation to genital pleasure-seeking via masturbation, and that it is reasonable to infer from certain behaviour (e.g. rhythmic, repeated stimulation of the genitals) that such pleasure-seeking is in fact present. This pleasure-seeking usually has a social dimension, which is well developed in adulthood: generally speaking, there is a desire to be sexually involved with another person, and even solitary masturbation tends to be stimulated by fantasies of sex with someone, or by the attraction of another's body.

It may be felt that in talking about 'childhood sexuality', there is a danger of falsely imputing to children a set of clearly formed socio-sexual desires and expectations, when in fact these cannot exist prior to having gained some knowledge, through experience, that specific forms of sexual contact with other people (digital stimulation, penetration, etc.) are possible and could be pleasant.

Freud himself falls into the trap: in speaking of an infant boy's desire to sexually possess his mother, he positively invites a literal interpretation, as though the child were aware of the possibility of penetration and consciously desired it.

On the other hand, it should be realised that from very early in life children can come to enjoy socio-sexual experiences, if they have access to them, and having had such access, they need no longer be strangers to many of the meanings that such experiences have for adults: in particular, just like adults, children who have experienced a pleasurable socio-sexual act are capable of anticipating pleasure in a future occurrence, and may fantasise it, or seek a repetition. Nor need such contacts be merely a matter of genital gratification.