Your experiences, Ian and Aimee, were horrible and I wish your doctors had been much more protective of your privacy and feelings.  I hope people in general are more sensitive these days.  But I think having a doctor just examine a boys testicles to see if they’re getting larger every three months shouldn’t be traumatizing.  They’re not taking pictures or having residents look.  My son gets examined by a woman doctor, and I think he’s nervous sometimes because his testicles aren’t descended sometimes (if that makes sense).  But she’s always sensitive to his feelings - asking him if he wants me to leave, and she has a very warm, friendly manner throughout the exam.  Another doctor used a flashlight to see if he had pubic hair when he was 7.  But Ian, you would know that letting him go into puberty at 7 rather than letting him be examined would be a lot worse.  I was really afraid that he’d go into early puberty because his sister did, so I was happy when his pediatrician also examined him down there.  She just said, "Nothing going on down there, just a normal 7-year-old boy" and I was relieved.