Here's an excerpt from a recent conversation I had with Brock & Lynzy at bedtime.
Brock: Mom, how did I get in your belly when I was a baby?
Me: Well, God put you there.
Brock: How?
Me: God helped Mommy & Daddy meet and get married and then he helped us have you.
Brock: How do babies get out of their mommies?
Me: There are two ways, one is through surgery and the doctors take them out and the second is between mommy's legs. (that's the part I am cringing about..this totally caught me off guard)
Lynzy: Are the babies in your belly with all your food?
Me: No, there is a special place that babies grow inside their mommies but not in their stomachs. Food goes into the stomach.
And then I quickly changed the subject because I was having heart palpitations about the whole conversation. I guess it's a good thing they didn't ask to see pictures or ask for more details. I probably would have passed out.
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5 comments:
In my personal opinion, I think you handled it much better than I would have! :) I'm not quite ready for that one...
For me I think I would tell my kids a lot - IF I wasn't worried about them re-telling what I teach them. I am nervous about arming them with vocabulary that they might drop at inopportune places - like school, or church. Jenny told me she answered a similar question (about how babies come out) by saying "Through the birth canal." Hey, I wouldn't mind my kid saying that in public. That's totally one I'm going to remember.
Jamie, I am usually totally with you on full disclosure with the kids. They know the correct names of their body parts and use them appropriately (sometimes) and I don't want to hide things from them but seriously, I was so stumbling for the right words that it was the best I could come up with. Birth canal is probably the best and I will use it in the future. I have a feeling it won't be the last time I have to answer that question.
Jamie's right. I used the "babies come out through a special place in a mom's body called a birth canal." Then I was asked where the birth canal is. So, I answered. "It's near my bottom." Totally unphased by it. When asked how babies get in a mom's tummy I told them "to make a baby you need a seed from a mom and a seed from a dad. Then, the seed grows inside a mom's body until it gets big enough to come out." This same topic has come up a lot since - even speaking about animals and such. They can explain it pretty well - and I think it's in a vocabulary that isn't generally offensive to people.
Anyway, I also think you handled it nicely. If we get all embarrassed about it, then they'll start to feel funny about asking, and I'd definitely prefer to be the one to explain it.
I also have no hesitation telling my kids, "You can ALWAYS ask me any questions that you want to, but there are some things that aren't polite to talk about in public. Things about our bodies are private and we don't need to talk about them to other people."
I would have said...." The stork brought you and called it a day!!" Some questions are better left unanswered at that age...LOL
Aunt Dar
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