Need Help Explaining How Baby's Come Out to My 6 Year Old.

I never thought explaining how a baby gets out of the tummy to be a problem. I just said there was a special place. My oldest son was almost 4 when I had my second son. He too was very interested in the baby. My concern was would he ask how the baby got in my stomach. One day I thought that moment had come. We were discussing the baby and he said, "Momma there is something I have always wanted to know." I thought here it comes. His question was "Do flys have eyes?" He never asked the other question even when I was carrying my third son.

If she is asking, then she is ready for an answer...but don't answer questions she isn't asking.
If she only want's to know how the baby comes out, you don't necessarily need to go into detail about how it got there in ght first place.
Keep it simple and honest.
This approach has worked with my two older sons when I was pregnant with my youngest. They were 6 & 9 at the time.

Blessings to you.

The baby just "pops out".

This is what my husband told my daughter when I was pregnant with her little brothers. BUT my daughter was only 3 1/2 yrs. and not 6. My daughter is now almost 9 and her brothers are 5 and we still say babies "pop out" and they are fine with that. We all laugh and move on...no questions asked.

Remember that anything you tell her, she is going to tell her friends. Keep that in mind when you plan out what you want to say.

The key to talking to little kids about the big issues is only answering the questions they ask,but not giving them more info than they can handle. So she wants to know how the baby comes out (not how it gets in...yet!)
My son was 4 when his second little brother was born and he had all the same questions. I showed him a booklet (I think it came from my ob's office) that showed a birth. I told him the baby comes out the birth canal, which is down by mommy's bottom. Of course he asked if it's the same place pee or poop comes out, and of course I told him, no, it is a special place that opens up just for babies to come out. I think that answer is truthful but put in terms a young child can handle. He's now 7 and hasn't asked any more questions since!
Kids can handle the truth and you really don't want her to find out from someone else. She needs to know you are the one to come to when she wants to know something. I read somewhere that it's okay to tell kids "that's a great question, but can I think about how to answer it and we'll talk again tomorrow?" (or something like that). You can then buy some time to think about your answer, gather books or info, etc. It's not too much information if your child is asking you first. That means she's already thinking about it, versus you telling her something she's not ready to hear. Maybe you can show her photos of babies developing and really share this early bonding experience with her.
Good luck with your growing family!

P. (mom to three boys ages 7,5,& almost 3)

I too am having a baby and due in November. My son who's almost 5 is very inquisitive about how his little brother is going to come out. I am having a C-section, so I told him that the doctor will just make a little cut in my tummy and pull him out. Well, let me tell you...I did not get the reaction that I thought. He freaked! He thought I might die. UGH! It has been a rough hump to get over. I explained to him that when I had him that's what happened (I did have a c-section with him as well) and everything is just perfect...He and Mommy are ok and doing great. That has helped, but after reading your advice I may try to get a book or try another way to explain this to him.
Good luck!

There's a hole in Mommy's body under where Mommy goes to the bathroom called a vagina. God helps make that hole big enough so that the baby may come out. Sometimes Doctors will help by cutting a hole when necessary. But, the baby will come out my vagina.

We just had this issue come up,from our 6 yr. old son. And I am not pregnant. We just simply told him that we would explain it when he is older. He was fine with that. ps both he and his 3yr. old sister were born by c-section. Anyway,good luck

Hi K.,

This is sometimes and awkward subject to talk about especially to younger children. My four year old wanted to know how the baby would come out. I told him that there was a special baby hole that the baby would come out of. Then he asked where it was. I walked right into that one. I said that it was in between the pee pee nad the poo poo hole. That seemed to do the job. There are always those baby shows that show how everything happens.

The "What to Expect . . " series has a great book for kids that address this very well. I don't remember the exact name but its something like "What to Expect When Mom's having a baby". It answers all of the questions that she's probably asking in an age appropriate way without being too graphic.

Wow, too bad you cannot just have her see something puppies or kitties being born.

Honesty is the best policy and information beats ignorance. The good news is that your daughter didn't ask how babies get IN your tummy! How they get out is easy. Women have a vagina, a tube that goes from their tummy to the outside, and the baby will come out of there when its ready...that's the easiest, least confusing answer I think. Good luck.

This can be answered by a book from the library. Get one that is for the right age. They do not need to know all that much. Good luck

What about letting her watch A Baby Story on TLC? My 2 older children (2 and 3) loved watching it when I was pregnant and it answered a lot of questions without specific details. My 3 year old knows that some babies come out of a mommy's bottom and some babies have to be cut out of a mommy's tummy.

I highly recommend the book "Why boys and girls are different" by Carol Greene. It talks about how God made our bodies different. The first one of the set is for ages 3-5 and there is a series and some parent tips on how to talk to your kids. My 5 year old wants to read it all the time. She has been very interested in bodies and this book has given her an outlet and opened up both me and her to conversation. I want to build this strong openness now as when they are older I want them to feel like they can come to me with questions as I didn't feel like I could ask my mom about things when I was younger.

Facts are rarely harmful, if delivered as matter of fact. When my five year old asked this question, regarding her baby sister, I explained that the baby comes out through my vagina and the doctor is there to help. She only became concerned when I went on to explain that sometimes a c-section is necessary, as the idea of mommy getting cut was very upsetting to her. We have always used the technical terms for body parts, so she was not at all concerned or confused by this explaination.

I have a friend that I thought did a great job with this question. She has 2 girls and the younger one wanted to know the same question. I think she was 4 at the time. My friend told her that mommies are special and they have 2 holes. One is there just for babies to come out when they are ready. She didn't get too detailed but answered the questions as honestly and age appropriately as she could. Her daughter was thrilled that she was special and one day she would be able to have a baby too. I have two boys and when my second one was born my other son (3 at the time) was simply told that his baby brother "popped out". This satisfied him for awhile but I was shocked about 4 months later when he asked, "mommy, where did he pop out?". I couldn't believe my 3 year old had been thinking about that for so long. So I told him I had a specail place for the baby to "pop" out and he was satisfied with that answer. I really do believe that something as close to the truth would be best without all the gorey details. If you tell her they cut you open it might upset her and she may think that she will have to be cut open someday too. I would steer away from that. Good luck!

Hi K.,
We told our kids the baby comes out of the "birth canal". Then the dr. hands the baby to the nurse who wipes the white cream off the baby. That is there to keep the baby's skin from being dry since it is inside where the baby has been living and growing. That satisfied them for a time. Mine were older before they asked where that was. Having another bit of info after "birth canal" switches them to thinking of that. Explain how if you have had a lot of sun/swimming you need lotion, etc. Kudos to you for not giving more explanation than what they are emotionally prepared for! HTH

Our neighbor girl is 5 she was told that babies come out of the belly buttons. At the time I didn't understand why she wouldnt just tell her they came out of mommies privates? Still not sure why that would be too much information for a kid to handle. But hopefully telling her the belly button would help you. Congrats on the new baby. Remember to play up the whole your going to be a big sister, and a big brother soon. Good luck.

Hi I too had a similiar situation with my daughter last year, I told her the truth , but kept it simple. when mommy & daddy love each other they make a baby, I did tell her briefly about eggs, becasue she had seen a chick hatch. Wehn it came to paart of how they came out I told her mommy loved her verymuch and pushed her out. She asked about s-section meaning c-section, her frineds mommy had one. Again honesty, I told her sometimes the baby wiggles so much they get turned around, and it is too dangerous to push the baby out, so they have a surgery, where they make a cut to take the beautiful baby out. She was fine with conversation, and it appeased her intrest. YOu know your daughter best, mine being the modest mommy has always asked questions and she will not stop until she get the answer. Go with your gut and their are some books availbale if you want to use them, check out barnes and noble or local library.

This may shock a few! My son is a very very curious 5 1/2 yr old and loves science/health. He has examined our ears, noses and throats since he was 3 or so. His pediatrician has let him use his tools to examine me (mom) everytime we have gone! He knows more about anatomy than most kids his age I assume. With that said.... he knows what his body part is called but not what us girls privates are called. He wanted to know where he came from which was a c-section and has seen the pictures but also knows that babies come out of the "baby hole" that mommas have. He has even seen a vaginal birth with the sound off. We are trying to get pregnant this month and our son will be involved in the whole 9 month process as much as my dr will allow.

Hey K., It will be much better coming from you than from anyone else. My youngest, and only girl surprised us at 4 1/2 after starting kindergarten. She came home and told my husband she knew where babies come out. Not sure what she was going to come up with, he played along. Very matter of fact, she says, "My friend, she is in first grade, said that babies come out of your butt". Trying very hard not to laugh, he told her that was not quite right and to talk to momma. As soon as I got home he pulled me aside. We decided to tell her how she came out, via c-section! I sat down with her and and we talked. I showed her my scar, told her about going to the hospital and who was in the hospital room with us. Her birth story.
I got out the easy way, but I told her the truth. I thought she was too young, but I had no choice, especially after she had been given wrong information. We laugh about it now, she is 11 and knows that some babies are born vaginally.

There is a book about this I saw at the Christian book store before. Google Christian book store and then do a search like explaining birth to your children, or something like that and a list of books will come up and give you the rating and reviews from others. I would not tell her the dr is going to cut you either, you never know what go ons in the mind of kids, but I'm pretty confident that you can find a book for kids on that website that can explain it more easily that what I can think of to say. lol and good luck

Likely you have already noticed she has known the parts of her own body since she was about 4 or so. It isn't too difficult to just share with her that when a woman is getting ready to have a baby those parts of her body get ready, too. Kind of like the elastic of a hair scrunchy or the waist of her pants or skirt grow bigger when she pulls them on, so the baby will fit through and be able to come out.

If she has more questions, there are library books for young schoolagers that give age-appropriate information in story form. Just call and ask a librarian to look for you.

Just be very frank with her and tell her that God has a very special way to get the baby out and that when she is old enough to understand that you will explain it to her. If she pushes it, which she probably won't, just be firm and tell her
"Whan you are old enough I'll explain it". Than change the subject.

If your child is curious about the process, it is a more than opportune time to give her a brief intro to where babies come from. My son could care less when I was pregnant but now he is 7 he asks more questions. It is far easier to give them information as they ask for it than to give The Talk all at once. Give her a simplified version. That babies grow inside until they are ready to come out and then they come out a little like a bowel movement. She may not ask anything else or she may ask from where. With my son, we have always answered his curious questions when they come so he understood that girls are different from boys. It was easy to explain that girls have a whole just for babies. He hasn't asked how daddy put the baby there yet but I know its coming. I hope this helps.

My oldest is now 4 and expecting his 2nd sibling in the next few weeks. When I was pregnant with #2, my midwife gave me a movie to watch, so I popped it in and we sat down to watch. What I did not know was that it was ONLY crowning through first few breaths on video. I was stunned and a little distraught, but sat down so as not to scare #1 and we watched a few of the births me explaining as questions were asked. A few days later, while running a bath I had a hollering kiddo (who saw my naked backside as I bent to test the water) telling me "The baby is coming the baby is coming!"

Long story short, #1 witnessed birth via video and was fine for it, even at such a tender age.

I would suggest letting your daughter ask specific questions and answer those. Kiddos tend to ask what they want to know and if you stick to their questions they won't get too much info.

Good luck!

Kids love honesty! I had the same situation, my daughter was 5 when our son was born. I was honest and told her the absolute truth. She didn't seemed that shocked or troubled by it.