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Parenting

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Original poster

"But HOW did Daddy plant the seed in Mummy's tummy?"

21 replies

Meid · 01/07/2005 10:32

Does anyone have any advice on how to explain this to a 4 year old?

Or perhaps a book they could recommend that I can read with her?

Many thanks.

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WideWebWitch · 01/07/2005 10:33

I like mummy laid an egg by Babette Cole read it yourself first though and check you think it's ok.

mummycan · 01/07/2005 10:33

Have a look at When mummy laid an egg by Babette Cole

morningpaper · 01/07/2005 10:33

I love Babette Cole's "Mummy Laid an Egg". Deals with all the detailed stuff but in a very lovely way. My 2 year-old loves it!

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mummycan · 01/07/2005 10:34

Great minds hey WWW

morningpaper · 01/07/2005 10:34

well that's consensus for you

WideWebWitch · 01/07/2005 10:37

Sure is Mp!

WideWebWitch · 01/07/2005 10:38

And all within a minute or two, Meid, be impressed please!

mancmum · 01/07/2005 10:40

I love Mummy laid an egg -- only prob is DS wants to know where the trapeze/skateboard etc is that we used to make the baby!! Think sex will be a disappointment for him after reading this fab book at such a young age!!

morningpaper · 01/07/2005 10:42

"Mummy, when you are doing it on a spacehopper, how do you hold on?"

etc.

Original poster

Meid · 01/07/2005 10:46

Wow! A quick response. Thank you VERY much. I've ordered the book and will have it at the ready for her questions!

Much appreciated.

Meid x

OP posts:

nooka · 02/07/2005 00:00

Have to say I'm not keen on Babette Cole. Why don't you just tell her? I told my 5 year old the other day (after a long time of talking about babies growing inside me but no questions about how it got there) he just looked at me oddly, said "yuk" and has never asked again...

HappyMumof2 · 02/07/2005 09:21

Message withdrawn

Mamatoto · 02/07/2005 09:44

I just explained it to mine and tbh i think its easier to be really open and frank when they are young- then they just grow up with it. now ( 8 10 and 12) they snigger but I am kinda proud I told them straight and did not tell the ' special cuddle' line. the only hard bit is " How do the seeds actually come out" !

nooka · 02/07/2005 17:45

Oh God! I haven't had that one yet!

jac34 · 02/07/2005 18:03

DS(6) asked the other day, how babies got out, as he said he knew not everyone had their stomach cut open like me.
I was just honest and told him,he thought it was funny, but then said,but ladies winkies are too small, so I said it gets bigger when the baby is ready to come out.

Luckily, they have not asked how it got there yet, but I think I'd just do the same and be honest.
If a child can't get an honest answer of his parents then he'll start asking other people, and I'd rather it was me who explained.

wavingordrowning · 02/07/2005 19:24

Have just bought "Where Willy went" by Nicholas Allen (the fab man who wrote The Queen's Knickers, Jesus' Christmas Party and Cinderella's bum). All the adults I;ve shown it to love it but haven't tried it on 4 year old dd yet as I think it might actually raise more awkward questions than it answers! Either way, since I'm dealing with the child who came out with "Mummy, have you been eating too much pizza again or have you got a baby in your tummy" when I was 19 weeks pregnant, I'm going to have to come up with something pretty quickly!

WideWebWitch · 02/07/2005 20:06

nooka, the Babette Cole DOES tell the truth about where babies come from, it just does it amusingly (if you're a child anyway) with illustrations. I wouldn't advocate not telling children the truth about reproduction/birth, not at all.

WideWebWitch · 02/07/2005 20:08

In case I wasn't clear, I DID tell my son the truth when he asked and read him the Babette Cole book, which also tells the truth - it's called Mummy laid an egg but er, it doesn't actually tell children that mummy laid an egg, it explains the reality in child friendly (IMO) terms.

blossom2 · 02/07/2005 20:22

my DD is 3 yrs and we've been reading it to her since she was 2 yrs old, before is was pregnant. Its only now that she understands the concept of where a baby comes from (i'm due in a few weeks with number 2).

i'm hoping in the next few years, she'll begin to understand the other concepts ie how parents 'fit together'.... and not ask too many questions ....

DH thinks its 'baby porn' because of the pictures of 'how mummy & daddy fit together'....

nooka · 02/07/2005 21:25

I wasn't saying that Babette Cole doesn't ultimately tell it how it is. Just that personally I don't like her style (have a couple of her other books, and she just doesn't do it for me - the kid's don't seem to like her much either).

As I had my two by c-section it's always been pretty easy to start conversations with them from when they were little, and I guess I've just told them a little bit more each time, as they seemed ready for it. I tend to use the straight up Explore/Eyewonder type human biology biology books if they want pictures (ds choses them from the library, so I don't have much choice really!.

I think that the only thing that matters is that you are comfortable with the approach you choose, and for me that wasn't Babette Cole.

WideWebWitch · 03/07/2005 09:23

Oh ok fair enough nooka.

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