5 Yr Old Asking Questions

My daughter did the same thing when I was pregnant with her little sister. Everything I read just said to give a very vague answer, to which most kids are happy with. For example, when she asked me how the baby would get out, I explained I would go to the hospital and the doctor gets the baby out. Its not a lie, but its not the detailed truth for which she is not ready. She asked how the baby got in there, and I explained that when a mommy meets a daddy and they're ready, thats how a baby gets in there. Its not a lie, but I left out details. I hope this helps.

I found a great book by the same woman who wrote "What to Expect when you are expecting" It's Called "What to Expect, when Mommy is having a baby". It is children oriented, that answers all of those questions. I would read it to my 6 y/o son when I was pregnant. Here is a link to the book on Amazon. Hope this helps.

http://www.amazon.com/What-Expect-When-Mommys-Having/dp/0...

First of all - CONGRATULATIONS! :) My boys are 5 years apart so my eldest had a lot of questions. I was always told to just answer his questions with as broad an answer as I could and if he still was curious he would continue to ask.... so far that has worked beautifully. He did ask me about the baby coming out -- I just told him that I had to go to the hospital and the doctor would help the baby come out of my tummy. He was honestly more concerned about it HURTING me than anything else. I just let him know that I would be just fine.

When he started asking quetsions about eating and stuff... I actually opened up a real egg and showed him the yoke and the white and told him that drew was in kind of like the protective shell like the egg... and that he had a special place -- just like Josh -- where we were attached -- his belly button to me... and whatever I ate he ate. Like I said, my generalizations worked great -- yours may be a little more inquisitive! :)

Good luck.... a website I have used as a resource in the past is www.babycenter.com

I have a 4.5 year old and she has asked the same thing of me (I'm 22.5 weeks pg with B/B/B triplets).

I told my daughter that the doctor will take them out. This time I have to have a C-section so I can just say they cut them out and then show her the scar. However, I had a vaginal delivery with her and I am not ready to tell her that - so far, "the doctor takes them out of my tummy" and then following up with "so you can play with them and see them" seems to appease her (I'm not apposed to changing the subject at this age).

The other questions - how does the baby eat or breath - she has a book called "Happy Birth Day" and it shows a baby (drawing) and it still has the umbillical cord. I showed her that it was attached to her belly button (thus why she has it) and that is how she got her food and air from me. She thinks that is cool. And it's the truth :)

Oh and when she asked how the babies got in there, I told her we prayed for them and God put them in there. I got pg via Frozen Embryo Transfer and didn't want to go there with her - nor did I want to discuss sex either. Yet.

This is what has worked with me so far.

Good luck!

I say just answer them honestly. You may feel that they're too young to go into the sex talk, and that's ok, because they aren't asking those questions. I think I was about 5 years old when my mom explained to me that I was a girl and had a vagina and that boys didn't and all of that stuff. Because she was open about things like that from the beginning, I always felt as if I could ask her quesitons about things.

This cames in extremely handy when I reached Jr. High and was hearing all kinds of words that I didn't know the meaning of!

At this age, I think it's just fine to let them know how the baby lives in there, how your body is supporting the baby. The baby eats what you eat and gets oxygen from you breathing. It'll be a great science lesson!!

Mary Flo Ridley is an excellent resource for talking with your children about sex. I have heard her speak on several occasions and I believe if you can find her website you can purchase her talk on CD. Mary Flo suggests that you begin answering questions like these just as soon as they begin asking them. Be careful, though, and don't give too much information. As adults we tend to go overboard and feed them more info than they are really asking for. Ms. Ridley suggest telling the truth and using proper names for body parts. She says that starting conversations like these in preschool will set a foundation for trust and open conversation about sex that will last into their teen years.

Anyway...get her CD she's wonderful.

I agree with the other posters that say answer honestly and briefly. However, I would use the correct terms. It is so easy to talk to your 5 year old about a baby coming through the vagina. And if you don't act embarrassed then they won't be.

I have teens now and they cringe when I talk about anatomy, but talking to them when they were little makes it so much easier now!

Why not just tell her the truth? Honesty is usually the best policy and theres nothing wrong with telling a five year old about that stuff, even if they won't really completely understand it.

My son was 7 when I got pregnant with my daughter and he of course, asked questions but my best advice is to answer honestly and briefly with simple answers. He was happy with simple answers and didn't ask any questions that I was uncomfortable answer at his age. He was very aware that babies either come from the mom's peepee (we kept it simple and didn't explain all about the female anatomy) and some babies come out of their mom's stomaches. My ob/gyn gave me a magazine that outlined the babies development each month of pregnancy and we enjoyed looking at that together and seeing what our baby was doing each month. I am sure your doctor would be a good source of kid friendly information. My son never asked the specifics of how the baby got there. He has heard the word "sex" even though I don't think he knows what exactly it is. I would just keep it to answers such as when a mom and dad love each other God gives them a baby. (That is what I have told my son). I am sure you can come up with something honest without giving too much information.

Your child is very smart, so treat her that way. Show her a science book with drawed out illustrations that can easily be explained. She is a girl and holds the same body form as you, so do not be ashamed. She will always come to you when she wants to hear the truth, that has to be worth something.