A few points that have occurred to me, having just caught up on yesterday’s live reporting and the summary of the podcast given above. Can they not use location data on the hot tub photo? Where was it, who was there and wtf was going on?! The bruises to his head, omg you can see what is insinuated by the description of them. There’s so many things wrong- am I the most nervous parent ever that I would NOT have had 5 cuddly toys and various blankets in my child’s cot. It’s a suffocation hazard and they weren’t even allowed more than one or two once they were bigger and sleeping in a bed. Describing him snuggling and chewing them makes Preston sound like a pet dog in a crate. Yes I am aware babies chew soft things, my eldest would chew a vest or his own sock because he never wanted a dummy. “Free Willy time”- that’s something I might have done when they were tiny if I was struggling with nappy rash but it’s been largely discounted as helpful and a barrier cream and clean nappy are preferable. I wouldn’t have done that once they were older with larger volume of wee and old enough to rummage their privates (none of mine really did that though I’m aware it’s not uncommon for little boys and they had taken videos of Preston doing it, the sickos). Leaving a baby who is at risk of attachment disorder to cry and whimper so you can prove to yourself he’s manipulative and whiny! That’s one of the most misguided (I’m being generous), cruel and or narcissistic things I’ve heard. I just can’t get over the audacity of JV dismissing the internal injuries. There was nobody else there to cause them on his final day. I think a focus is being made on the bladder because the defence will probably use the doctor’s words about the appearance of his bottom sometimes being seen after a resuscitation to push for reasonable doubt
old enough to rummage their privates (none of mine really did that though I’m aware it’s not uncommon for little boys and they had taken videos of Preston doing it, the sickos).
self is often a form of self-soothing for very young children. Boys in particular, because their privates are more obvious and easier to access tend to do it more obviously than girls.* It' can be a way of providing themselves with comfort and reassurance if they are in distress, or just the sort of comfort as they are (say) nodding off to sleep, that might otherwise be provided by a dummy. It isn't sexual as it would be in an older child. Most children do it at one time or another, even the most loved and cared-for ones.
It can even be an aid to concentration - young children may touch their genitals while they're concentrating on something else. It's just a pleasurable sensation and most grow out of it as they become more physically active (and back into it as they become pubescent).
I think it's likely that Preston used it as a way of trying to provide himself with safety and comfort. While most children of his age, in his situation, would likely be cuddled and hugged to sleep in a strange place, Preston was left to cope as best he could. (It wouldn't surprise me if he was left alone in a bare cot, with all of the toys "tidied away".)
*Little girls will often sit and rock.