Even though you know the time is going to come when your child starts asking about how babies are made, you can still feel unprepared when it actually happens.
You feel like stuttering “um… well, these birds called storks with great BIG beaks carry little babies in their mouths and drop them under a bush, then the mummy comes and collects them!”
When you know someone who is heavily pregnant and the child can blatantly see that no, there is no stork with a baby parcel and the baby is actually inside the mummy, that kind of explanation just isn’t going to wash.
How much should you actually tell an 8 year old who wants to know how the baby gets into the mummy’s tummy? When the child wants to know if the mummy goes to the hospital to get an injection that makes them grow a baby inside them, do you arm them with the basic facts suitable for their age range or say:
“Um, yes, something like that. Now, what do you want for tea? Ooh look, it’s all raining and cold outside. Is that the doorbell?!…..and run away quick?!
As much as I’m tempted to go with the latter, the amount of questions I’ve got today shows that it’s definitely a few facts time.
He wants to know how the baby got into the tummy in the first place. So far he’s been told the mummy has an egg in their tummy that mummies and daddies can turn into a baby.
Now an age appropriate book (from age 5 so definitely ok) from Amazon is on order, which tells the basics without all the gory details – the nitty gritty bit apparently describes as ‘a special cuddle between the mummy and daddy.’
Hopefully that will satisfy any burning questions and I can get back to less taxing questions like football or Super Mario related ones!
Oh, I remember those books. We had a sex ed class in school, i would have been 10 or younger. The parents had to (yes, they were invited?!) say 2 ‘sex’ words to the kids and explain them. My mum chose penis and vagina. Good times! But I think the book sounds great because they work out the nitty gritty during chatter at school.
Ha, there was no inviting of parents to a sex ed class when I was at school, that sounds like a great idea though!
That way everybody gets to be involved in the talk and exactly what is being taught,
Oh the questions children come out with! I was looking for a book about babies growing in mummys’ tummy as i’m pregnant and would like to share it with my 4 year old. So of to the library we went and i found a book in the preschool shelves. my advice would be to skim through it before you let your son anywhere near the book you’ve ordered! This book showed everything and it was more than just a cuddle. Way to much info for my very chatty 4 year old and I was a bit unsure about them having it in such an easy to access place. good luck with ‘The Talk’ xx
I’ve ordered a children’s one that says it’s suitable from age 5, and have read all the reviews on it thoroughly – they all say it gives a rough idea as a nice story without too specific a detail, so should be okay. Will definitely be giving it a thorough read through before letting it anywhere near him though just to make sure!
LOL you poor thing. Book sounds like a sensible way to go. Though I reckon you may still need a stiff G and T after though
I think that sounds like a plan, will have it on standby!
Ok, I’ve just received said book that’s from 5 years and up. So a 5 year old needs to know that much detail, how exactly?! *hides it away from little eyes for a few years yet!*