Do you tell your little kids about the stork or about the tame version of "the birds and the bees"?

Question

...you know, "mommy and daddy got married and then you appeared inside mommy's tummy"

Answer 1

Be honest with them. Don't get to graphic....but honesty is always the best policy....I would tell them something like....Mommy and Daddy love each other very much and God thought we needed to have another baby and so there is a baby growing in Mommy's tummy and in a few months to come, Mommy will go to the hospital and have the baby. If your kids ask you how the baby got to be in Mommy's tummy, tell them God put the baby there.....If they ask how, tell them that God can do all things....I told my 2 year old about him going to have a baby sister or brother and the baby was in my tummy, he asked all the questions ( I didn't think were possible for someone his age) I told him that God put the baby there and then he asked if God was going to let the baby see him...I told him Yes. When I had his sister, he came up to the hospital...looked at my tummy and said, "Where's this baby? Cuz, it sure isn't in your tummy anymore mommy, cuz you aren't fat anymore. About that time The nurse brought his sister in and he looked at the nurse and said, Let Me see the baby, she's got to be big like me, cause God took a long time to help Mommy have her, at least two years." Kids are generally happy with short answers and they tend to ask them over and over but just keep to what you tell them the first time and make them part of helping get ready for the new baby and pretty soon it won't matter to them how or why the baby is going to be here, it just matters When is the baby going to be here." I hope this helps.

Answer 2

Don't outright lie to them, it will just confuse them and they'll feel bad when they learn the truth from their friends in school. You don't have to tell them all the details, but dont say that a stork brought them, or that wandering monks left a baby, and I would stay away from "you appeared in mommy's tummy"

I think for very young children, the analogy of a seed works very well. Start with the whole when daddy's and mommy's love each other a lot intro and move onto something like, "the Daddy puts a seed in the mommy, and a baby grows from the seed inside the mommy."

By saying that, you aren't lying to the child, but you aren't going into unnecessary detail. And most importantly. Do not look or act at all embarassed when you tell your kid. That is probably the worst thing you could do.

Oh, and you could sprout some actual seeds with your child. It's a fun activity and it is a nice visual aid. Just make sure their isn't any confusion about your child being a plant and turning into a person.

Answer 3

I defintely wouldn't go the stork route. My girls would freak out if they thought a bird brought a baby to us. lol They do know that a baby grows in a momy's 'tummy'. They also know the appropriate names for their body parts.(doesn't mean they always callt hem that though. lol) They are only 2 & 4 & haven't inuired yet as to how the baby gets in the mommy's tummy. When they do I will answer that question as I have other questions...honestly & with as little detail as possible.

Answer 4

How much information you divulge depends on the child's age and maturity. But I think answering honestly is the best option. Just remember you don't have to give every little detail. Keep it simple and let your child's questions guide you.

My little one knew that a baby was inside my tummy. Had she asked how the baby got there (she didn't), I would have responded that God made the baby grow inside mommy's tummy to keep the baby safe until he was big enough to be born.

Answer 5

We definately did not go the stork family. We raise a lot of animals on our farm and our kids have seen how baby animals are made and watched them being born. They have asked if we do it the same and we have explained that it is not exactly the same but something in that nature. If you lie to them and tell them the stork story they are going to find out as soon as they start school. Then they have a feeling that their parents lied to them and if they defend the stork story they will be made fun of at school.

Of course if you give them too much detail they will be the one in Kindergarden telling all the other kids about it. Either way they will soon find out.

Answer 6

i've got basically ever heard the only appropriate to the stork and that i'm quite particular that he's no longer actual. See, there's a mommy and a daddy and that they love one yet another very lots. One nighttime, they flow to sleep and while they awaken, the mommy unearths a infant in her tummy and then 9 months later, she is going to the wellbeing facility and promises start to the infant and that's the place you got here from, costly.

Answer 7

My daughter is 11 and we had the talk earlier this year. I was very specific with her but not in a vulgar way. My mother never told me and handed me a kiddie book instead at the age of 16....when I already knew from friends. I told her about the importance of waiting until she was an adult....preferably married! I explained that I did NOT want to be a grandmother at the age of 40! LOL!!! We talk about it frequently and I just keep reiterating the importance of waiting until she's older, married, and ready to accept the responsibilty of a child if she were to slip up and become pregnant. I am not stupid enough to think that she will never be in a position to have sex before she's married. The temptations will be there just as they were for most of us when we were teens and young adults. I just pray she uses good judgement and that she doesn't figure out how to get past the bars I put on her windows! LOL!!!

Answer 8

I just had a baby, and we told our three and five year olds that mommy and daddy love each other very much, so God gave us a baby. It will grow inside mommy's tummy, and when it's time, she'll go to the hospital and have it. We didn't really tell them how, just that it would come out of my tummy.

Answer 9

My son is four and he knows the proper names for his body parts and for girls. I don't believe in lying to your kids and treating sex like a dirty, secretive thing. My son understands that a mommy and daddy have to want a baby and they use their different parts to get the baby in mommy's belly. I mean we don't tell him exactly because he is young but to a certain extent, for his age, he knows where the baby comes from, where it comes out and a little bit of how it gets in there in the first place.

Answer 10

More or less I told them about when Mommies and Daddies get married, their love creates a baby.