Yip, I’m referring to those questions that every mom and dad try and avoid as long as possible!
I made the, not so easy or wise, decision not to lie to my children…. except of course about the tooth fairy and Santa Clause……... but kids need a little bit of fantasy in their lives!!
*Warning*: Dads may feel uncomfortable with the rest of the article!!!!! Not for the faint-hearted!
So I was noticeably pregnant with my second child when I decided that my two year old was ready for the Discovery channel “In the womb” episodes. I can hear you all audibly cringe! All and all it was not the worst decision out. Apart from my daughter having a bit of a distorted understanding that babies can be born the normal way or C-section, and both are “natural”, she walked away satisfied. It put the baby in my tummy into perspective and she was very excited to meet her little brother. Her gran brought her to the hospital to ensure that she was part of the coming-home-as-a-family moment and she held his hand all the way home. Too special!!
She had her own little doll with a nappy bag and the whole toot and changed her baby whenever her brother’s diaper was changed. I explained breast feeding and the nutrition factor, which she lapped up, no pun intended. What was quite amusing was when she put nipple cream on herself after she breastfed her doll and walked around with these two grease patches on her top for the rest of the day.
The real questions and comments only started later!
The first difficult topic I needed to address was when she found a packet of sanitary pads in my cupboard. After covering an injury with it and coming out into the living room very proud of herself, I had to tell her those belonged to mommy and they weren’t plasters.
She wasn’t content with leaving it at that and asked me very quickly what mommy used it for. So this was the explanation that I gave: (It’s my pleasure by the way!!! I’m sure you can use this one!)
I informed her that every mommy has a little bag in her tummy that has a blanket for the baby to sleep in. This bag and blanket protect the baby. Mommy’s body prepares for a baby every month and if there is no baby, the blanket comes out so that Mommy can get a new clean one. She was so excited about this new information and was in awe that our bodies are so cleverly designed.
I decided early on not to tell them anything more than they asked to know. That topic is safe for now. I had to repeat the explanation once more when my son came out of the bathroom with a tampon in his ear, thinking it was an ear bud.
Thankfully they haven’t asked me how the babies make their way into the womb. They know both a mommy and daddy is required and that moms have eggs and dads have little fish called sperm but they are not yet curious as to how they get together. I’ll let you know when that happens….Maybe you have some advice to prepare me!
My opinion is that we should rather tell our kids things in a matter-of-fact way and ensure that they get their questions answered in a loving manner, giving the right info instead of leaving them to their own devices. Especially in our day and age with free access to all types of information. Hearing it from your mom or dad removes the mystery.
My kids know that they can always ask me anything and they’ll get an honest answer. That doesn’t mean that I don’t squirm in trying to convey the most appropriate explanation.
I’d love to hear how you dealt with a similar situation and what the results were. OK dads the awkward article is now over!!! You can relax and stop covering your eyes and ears!
Keep it real until next time!
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