HELP!!
I've been fairly open but age-appropriate with my almost-4yo about where babies come from. Over the last few months, she's brought it up repeatedly, clearly trying to figure it out.
I've told her (in answer to questions) that the dad gives the mum a seed, and they put it inside the mum. Not surprisingly, she then started asking how they put the seed in there.
I've managed to put her off a couple of times by saying it's something grown-ups do, and she'll know when she's grown up, which she accepted a few times, but tonight we had this:
DD: 'How do they put the seed inside the mummy?'
Me(faintly): 'It's something grown-ups do'
DD: 'But how so they put it in there, mum? Is it through your mouth?'
Me (thinking OMG!): 'No, no. Not through your mouth'
DD: 'How then? Through the belly button?'
Me(Trying desperately to think what to say): 'No!'
DD(getting annoyed): 'HOW then? TELL ME mummy!'
At that point I read her the Usborne body book but not surprisingly it completely missed out sex and went straight from eggs and sperm to explaining what happens inside the body during pregnancy. She accepted it for now, but it's going to come up again soon.
WHAT DO I SAY???
Before now, my theory was that if they are old enough to ask, they are old enough to get a simple answer. But she isn't 4 yet. I'm reluctant and I'm worried I'll mess this up and freak her out. DH thinks that if she repeats any specifics to a child at nursery, it wil upset the child and piss off the parents. But I feel strongly we mustn't put any kind of secrecy clause on telling her, since that's a dangerous precedent.
Arghhh!! What age did you tell your DC and how did you do it?
Can you recommend an age appropriate book which goes into more detail? I'd far rather read a book to her than ad lib.
And what do we do about her telling other kids?
HELP!!!