Ok, so 2 questions in 2 weeks. New record for me. My boy is 6 and she's 4 1/2 and they have been grilling me for nearly 4 weeks. I have been giving age appropriate answers that I thought they would be satisfied with. We went to the library to get some books with some great devlopment pictures in it. I have told them that , cats make kittens and dogs make puppies, and mommies and daddies make babies. He's OK with that, but she's not done. We've talked about how there are traits from the male and traits from the female that make the baby (probably my fault since I was explaining that she is biracial based on her birth parents descriptions). Getting close to full disclosure, but not sure that what she is looking for. I've tried a lot of other explanations "God gives the baby to the mom to grow in her belly", but that didn't fly in the face of their birth stories. I was accused of changing the subject by my 6 six old :) What age did you discuss at the detail they seem to need? Did they keep it under wraps, or blab at school the next day? I am all for honesty, but not sure that they are ready for full disclosure. Looking for guidance from those who have been there :)
If they are old enough to ask the question they are old enough to get the answer. Thing is I only answered their questions. Ask me a vague question and you got a vague answer. Ask me how do you have sex and I am going to tell you how.
Not sure if that makes sense but I don't translate a child's question into an adult answer.
Just say it! Don't put so much adult thought into it. They are not looking for a play by play just one sentence that finishes the puzzle they have in their brain right now.
At 4 and 6 they won't think of it the same way we do, no visions of a porno or hot movie sex scene. To them it's just mechanics.
I agree to go for it. Give them the information, they are begging for it. I would also talk to the teachers and give them the heads up to watch for those conversations and help out in the class setting. When my son learns something major at home ie: where do babies come from I give the teacher an email giving her a heads up to watch for that topic to come up and handle it how she feels appropriate. She may continue with the talk and allow my son to "hold court" and be the teacher OR she may decide that school is not the place. So ... go for it answer their questions and have faith.
We read "amazing you" by Gail Saltz. It was super good. Enough info for my 4 1/2 yr old curious girl. But not too much info. Just read through the books you see before you read aloud to make sure you are comfortable with the information.
Ha ha! My son asked me if I had a 'jina' about age 8. I was driving and was SO glad that he could not read my face! I said, "huh?". He said you know like all girls? I said yes.
He took it matter-of-factly, chewed his tongue (habit) and went on about something else.
I kept thinking on it--and as you can tell (he is an adult now) and I still recall it vividly!
You will recall this and laugh about it with your daughter--your son will NOT want to be reminded of it!
CUTE! lol
I just told mine that the mommy has a tiny egg deep down inside her and when she and the daddy want a baby the egg begins to grow. That seemed to satisfy them, and it certainly lines up with the pictures in all the books!
Check out the book "A Child is Born"- amazing photos!!! My 5.5 year old got focused on how the fetus develops (yay!!). There are photos at the end of a baby being delivered (quite clearly showing where the baby comes from) and a close up of a nipple showing how breastmilk is produced, just as a warning. I don't have a problem with these images, but they may be a bit too "natural" for some :) Anyway, this book lays it all out in pictures and made it very easy for me to explain all of the science, just leaving out that very first bit for now. I think it will make a good segue for the rest of the conversation, which I am sure will be pretty soon.
