My 3.5 yo just asked me "Mama, what do eggs grow on?" I stumbled a bit and told him that eggs come from chickens. I didn't want to get into the baby chicken thing etc, better to just give him a simple answer like I did or explain it all out while I cross my fingers and hope that it doesn't freak him out? He's really into detailed answers for things, he likes when I totally explain it but this one just seemed like too much! What would you do?
First of all, thank you to everyone for your input. It went well, stayed simple, which I suppose is how it should be. I have no problems talking with him about babies etc I was mainly concerned about telling him that we eat eggs which if we didn't eat them would someday become these cute fuzzy little chicks that we see at the state fair (which are his favorite part!) I haven't yet started talking to him about the fact that when he is eating chicken, it really is just like the birds we see on farms and cows and pigs etc, he's such an animal lover, I think that will be a tough day. Thank you again, it's always nice to have input from other parents!
I would just say that chickens on a farm make eggs. Don't make the mistake of OVER information it can come back and bite you.
Funny--we were having chicken for dinner O. night and my son was eating a drumstick and got a "look" on his face and said "is this like a REAL chicken?" He was horrified. I knew it would happen....LOL
Our 3 year old is asking a lot of questions, too.
We've taken the approach of honesty with the appropriate amount of details. So, when he asks why someone is in a wheelchair, we say that is how they move around because their legs don't work like ours do. When he asks if Mommy's pregnant because I have a big belly (I'm really not that out of shape), we appreciate the honestly and get on the treadmill.
He was 1 day shy of his second birthday when I was diagnosed with cancer. We chose at that point to be completely honest and not sugar coat things. They went to chemo sessions, they heard conversations with the Oncologist - they knew Mommy was sick but didn't need to know how sick (our daughter was only a few months old at the time).
For the question he asked, I'd say that Mommy chickens lay eggs that baby chickens grow out of. You don't need to explain the process, but it is the truth. He knows there are baby animals, and baby people. You can just correlate the eggs to the same thing and that the chicks will grow up to be Mommy or Daddy chickens.
Good luck!
The one that stumped me recently was "Mommy, why does that man wear earrings?" He was a biker in full Harley Davidson apparel. I never came up with a good answer for that one.
Hahaha I feel your pain! We are trying to have another child and know that "that" talk will be coming soon. If he happens to ask anything about the baby issue, we have decided to tell our son that when a mommy and a daddy love each other, they make a baby (and hope that that satisfies his curiosity). I suggest using the same type wording for any other animal that he has questions about...right now, I think it is the easiest thing for him and me! Good luck...I'm really not looking forward to any of it! :)
Kids are smart, and they learn by asking questions! Maybe it's just because I'm a scientist myself, but I LOVE it when my 3.5-year-old twins ask tough ones (why don't the people on the bottom of the earth fall off, what is voting for, how far away is the sun, why are dinosaurs extinct, etc.) I see no reason why a child this age shouldn't know the basics about which animals lay eggs, which animals (including humans) have live young, etc. I think the subject only seems "awkward" because of adult hang-ups. Kids are pretty open-minded. My kids wanted to know why all the milk at the store is cow's milk, if all mammals make milk, and we had a great joke about how hard it would be to milk a rhinoceros, or how little milk you'd get from a mouse. I say, enjoy the questions, and give honest answers!
A 3.5 year old is pretty smart, I imagine and could understand more. My 2 1/2 year old knows that eggs come from chickens and if the rooster sits on them to fertilize - and then the chicken for a long time after, that they will turn into baby chickens. If not - then we get to eat them as just eggs. That's detailed without the stuff you don't want to tell yet or that a preschooler can't wrap their head around yet.
I think you did the right thing. You answered his question without giving him too much information. If he's satisfied with your answer, just leave it with that. If he wants more, he'll ask more specific questions.
Briefly: Your answer was appropriate for his age. Later your answer will be more complex. Sometimes your answer will be demonstrations and explorations or a trip to the library. But this time it words.
If he's interested in the world, I'd answer his questions about it. Telling him where an egg comes from can be the simple "from a chicken" or the longer "from a chicken... and then a rooster.... and then more chickens." :) I decided to start talking with my daughter about the uncomfortable stuff when she was too little to know the difference because it gave me a lot of time to practice before it matters. She's 2.5 now and we still talk about sex, drinking, smoking, etc. at least once a month. I'm more comfortable talking with her as it comes up and we don't ever have to have "the talk". We're having many little talks that allow us both to do it a little at a time.
I think you are on the right track with answering questions age appropriately. No need to go into details about reproduction and such things at that age, milk comes from cows, eggs come from chickens, babies grow in their mommies tummies, etc. The other night my 4 year old daughter asked how lions make baby lions. I told her they are mammals like we are so they grow their babies in their tummies just like we do. She then got a very shocked look on her face and exclaimed "You mean lions have a uterus and a vagina too?!" I guess she was paying close attention when her baby brother was born!
We have chickens, we live in the country. Our children know that eggs come from chickens. They also know that they will turn into baby chicks if the hens hay on them for sometime. It doesn't freak the kids out. I would just explain that chickens lay eggs, then if he ask about chicks. Just tell him that the moms have to lay on the eggs for along time, days, and magically there is a chick in the egg. He's 3, he'll get it. Don't worry, it's just part of being a curious kid. Good luck.
