We have previously touched on the facts of life with EldestGirl. I was pregnant with YoungestGirl when EldestGirl was coming up for three, and she had a few questions about how the baby got there.
At the time, she was easily placated with, “Mummy and Daddy wanted a baby, so we put a seed in Mummy’s tummy and it grew into a baby.”
This worked well until she turned four.
Then the conversation went like this.
EldestGirl: Mummy, you know when YoungestGirl got in your tummy? How did she get there?
Me: We talked about this. Do you remember? A seed in Mummy’s tummy grew into a baby.
EldestGirl: I remember. But how did the seed get there?
Me: Well, Daddy put it there.
EldestGirl: In your tummy?
Me: Yes.
EldestGirl: Did you swallow it?
Me: *snigger* Would you like to watch Octonauts now?
Thankfully she hasn’t touched on whether or not the seed was swallowed again, and we’ve let the facts of life lie. Until this morning, when, for no reason whatsoever, we had the following conversation.
EldestGirl: You know when a baby gets in your tummy?
Me: Um. Yes. You do know it’s only 7.30 a.m., don’t you… I’m not quite awake yet.
EldestGirl: How does it get there?
Me: Well, a lady’s tummy has eggs in it…
Eldest
Girl: Eggs?
Me: Yes. Every girl is born with eggs in her tummy. You have them too. They are tiny and you can’t see them. When you get to be a grown up, if those eggs meet a seed, it can make a baby.
EldestGirl: But where does the seed come from?
Me: The seed needs to come from a man. You need a man and a woman to make a baby. Daddy put the seed in Mummy’s tummy to make you and YoungestGirl.
EldestGirl: But how did the seed get in your tummy?
Me: Daddy put it there.
EldestGirl: But how?
Now, I’m a big fan of using appropriate but accurate language for children. I don’t think it helps them to know a lot of euphemistic language for body parts, and I don’t see a good reason for lying to children about where babies come from. So I said to EldestGirl, “Do you really want to know this?”
EldestGirl: Yes!
Me: Well… the seed comes out of a penis and goes into a vagina where it meets the egg. The egg then starts growing into a baby.
EldestGirl: Really? Are you sure? That sounds gross. Can I watch Octonauts now?
Me: Dear God, yes please.
Had a conversation like this when teaching.
It was getting to the crucial point when I decided 10 minutes extra break time was preferable to irate parents. Spoilt by the child who declared that once outside he’d tell everyone because I clearly didn’t know .
Excellent. I hope you gave them house points for displaying appropriate knowledge!
L x