One of the things that irks me about parents is their inability to be honest with their kids. I'm not telling you to send out a memo every time you have sex with their father. I'm talking about the everyday scenarios.
I was changing the other day and my five year old came into the room and saw my cesarean scar. She asked me how I hurt myself and I told her that it was where she came out of me. Trying to keep in mind her age, I explained to her that she and her two sisters were too big to come out of my 'bottom' like most children, so they doctors made a special place just for her to come out safely. Thank God she didn't ask me how she got there...phew!
There are ways to give your kids the answers they are searching for without being inappropriate and/or brushing them off. If you tell your kids that you will tell them when hey are older, they will want to know even more and continue to bug you. Just be straight with them and as they get older, they will appreciate your honesty and be straight with you.
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Mark and I did our best to talk honestly with our boys - although at times we were really challenged when the hard questions came our way.
ReplyDeleteI would like to give advice, as a mom. Make sure to talk in 'real terms' (we called them the red faced words) when you have a come back for your kid's crazy - throw you for a loop questions.
Speaking from experience, rather than say bottom, when you mean vagina...just say the real word. Rarely have I found a 'red faced' word cause a stir from a child's innocent question. It's actually really being more straight forward with your kids too!
You are absolutely right Coreen. I have no problems using those words. I just struggle with the appropriate age...not because they shouldn't know what they are, but because I'm afraid they will repeat them at school and get in trouble. So many things get kids in trouble that they really have to watch what they do and say. I don't want to use a word that is fine at home and gets them repremanded elsewhere. It's hard to know the right things to do when it comes to our kids. I guess we just need to follow our hearts and know that we are doing our best.
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