{"id":5370,"date":"2021-10-01T04:46:38","date_gmt":"2021-10-01T04:46:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sometimesraw.com\/?p=5370"},"modified":"2021-10-01T04:46:41","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T04:46:41","slug":"mom-how-did-i-get-into-your-belly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sometimesraw.com\/?p=5370","title":{"rendered":"Mom, how did I get into your belly?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The other day, I was putting my almost eight-year-old son to bed, when he turned to me and asked\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I grow up, will I have a chin?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first, I didn\u2019t know what he was talking about, but then I realized that he knows many men with beards, so he thought his chin would disappear. I explained that he could have a beard or no beard, and either way, he would still have a chin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought my work there was done and was about to head to the living room to read, but his follow-up question was\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow did I get in your belly?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Big questions, little man!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back when I was seven and heard on the school bus about the\u00a0shocking<\/em>\u00a0mechanics of baby-making, I hurried home to ask my mom, and I remember sitting in our cozy kitchen as she told us matter-of-factly how it all worked. And gave us books about this topic to read. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I looked around for a few books for Joel, and here\u2019s what I found\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Baby Tree.<\/a> This is a beautiful, charming book about a little boy, whose parents reveal over breakfast that they\u2019re expecting another baby. The boy wonders where the baby will come from, and proceeds to ask his babysitter, teacher, mail carrier, and grandpa. They all give him different answers, and when he finally asks his parents, they tell him directly and truthfully (and somewhat abstractly:). It\u2019s really sweet, and I love that the final page of the book addresses more in-depth questions \u2014 about adoption, same-sex parents, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ages 4-8:\u00a0It\u2019s Not the Stork!<\/a>
Ages 8-10:\u00a0It\u2019s So Amazing!<\/a>
Ages 10 and up:\u00a0It\u2019s Perfectly Normal<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These three books by Robie H. Harris and Michael Emberley are WONDERFUL. They talk about bodies, sex, birth, adoption, different types of families \u2014 and for teenagers, puberty, contraception, homosexuality, masturbation, you name it. The books are very open and accepting of kids\u2019 questions and feelings while writing with a warm, direct tone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pamela Druckerman wrote a New York Times essay<\/a> about the inspiring Dutch approach to teaching kids about sex:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently, the Dutch are at the forefront of sex education, and they have little trouble broaching the topic. Parents in the Netherlands have lots of casual age-appropriate talks about sex with their kids, over many years, beginning when children are small. <\/span><\/em><\/p>

\u201cIf we start with sexuality education when children are teenagers, or even just before they start with any interest in sexuality, I think you are too late,\u201d says Sanderijn van der Doef, a psychologist\u2026\u201cAs soon as children have questions, they have the interest, and then they have the right to get a correct answer.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>

Dr. Van der Doef says parents should give simple, clear responses. If the child has more questions, he\u2019ll ask. Once he\u2019s 3 or 4, \u201cYou can start to explain, in a very simple way, that Mommy has a little egg in her belly, Daddy has very small sperms in his body, and when the sperms meet the egg, a baby grows in the belly of the mother.\u201d Three-year-olds rarely ask how the sperm and egg meet. If they do, \u201cthen you have a very smart child at that age, and that means that child needs to have an answer,\u201d s<\/em>he adds.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What about you? Have your little dudes asked about where babies come from? What did you tell them?\u00a0How did your parents tell you? I\u2019d love to hear\u2026 and no, I am not pregnant. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The other day, I was putting my almost eight-year-old son to bed, when he turned to me and asked\u2026 \u201cWhen I grow up, will I have a chin?! At first, I didn\u2019t know what he was talking about, but then I realized that he knows many men with beards, so he thought his chin would … <\/p>\n

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