fertilization of eggs and mating taught to 3yo

[PaulCardiff]

My 3yo dd came home with a book from her Catholic nursery with a life cyles book,egg to penguin.in the book it mentions how the male fertilizes the egg and the egg is inside the penguin.is this too early for her?or is this the norm?seems a little early,more for my wife.are we over reacting?

[CultureSucksDownWords]

If it's the book called Egg to Penguin (life cycles) the blurb on Amazon says its for 4 yrs and up. That doesn't seem too outrageous for it to be used in a nursery setting.

I cannot see how children learning the basics of reproduction is a problem. Just like they might learn the basics of digestion, or breathing, or whatever. Telling them that animals are "hugging" is to make an issue out of something that doesn't need to be an embarrassment. Just answer their questions (in an appropriate level of detail for their age) clearly and factually, and don't panic about it.

[NotCitrus]

Life cycles is something they do in preschool - lots of pictures of frogs and tadpoles, hatching eggs and looking after cute fluffy chicks, and when some kids were really interested in animals, bringing in more books with pictures of flies, caterpillars, puppies etc, which were probably aimed at older children but were used to encourage the preschooler s' interests.

Fitted in well with "why don't we have a baby at our house?" followed by "when will the baby come out of your tummy?", "how will the baby get out?" and " why is there red/brown stuff in your pants, have you done a poo?"

Ds's favourite book at the time was "And Tango made Three" about two male penguins rearing an egg - absolutely adorable and age-appropriate!

[MrsUnderwood]

OP, my daughter is 2, I am pregnant and she has asked how the baby got in my tummy and how it's going to get out. I've told her the truth in an abridged and age appropriate way. She seems to understand and she doesn't much care. It was like explaining any other thing to her.

[Costacoffeeplease]

I don't see how plant reproduction would be relevant?

And as for 'what's point if she doesn't understand?' The point is that it's normal for her, that she grows up always knowing, that there's no big 'birds and bees' talk, that she doesn't pick up random bits of information and put them together herself, perhaps wrongly, because she'll already know the basics

I'm amazed that it's even an issue

[Sleepyfergus]

Auntiestella - a 3yo is not going to be arsed about the finer details about reproduction. She's prob more interested about the fluffy penguins and the eggs and how cute the title baby penguin is when it hatches. It seems to make the mum feel awkward though.
Yes, there are prob lots more age appropriate books out there, but his one is not doing any wrong per se and she will be educated about this appropriately in the years to come. But no point in lying about how animals mate if it's on view on the to or at the zoo.

[SuburbanRhonda]

Another one puzzled about KS2 resources being in a nursery, never mind being used.

What's the book called, OP? Maybe your friend made a mistake about the target audience.

[PotteringAlong]

Why would plant reproduction be more logical? She's at the age where her friends are having baby brothers and sisters left right and centre! I think human reproduction is the most logical place to start.

[PaulCardiff]

Cheers, we feel stupid. Just thought plant reproduction would have been a logical start.whats the point in it if she wont understand?

[FourForYouGlenCoco]

When I was a student midwife I had all sorts of revision stuff up on the lounge wall! My then-2yo DD got told all about the muscles of the female pelvic floor
It's fine for her to know the basic biological principles if she's interested. Yes the book might be a bit old for her but it's not exactly 50 Shades, the worst that happens is that she doesn't really understand it all.
Your wife is being unreasonable.

[CharmingChampignon]

Seems odd that they'd have ks2 resources in a nursery.

However, my dc have 'Mummy Laid An Egg' and 'Where Willy Went' and we read them as normal stories. I've answered all their questions factually and used correct anatomical words. They know about periods and sex and caesarians...mine are 4 & 6 and seem well adjusted and age appropriate. If you don't answer their questions now, when do you suddenly start?

[AuntieStella]

"She's been told the truth albeit they have missed out a few steps"

Thise 'few steps' being the reception, year 1 and year 2 SRE topics.

I know MNetters all have brilliant DC who are well capable of absorbing material 4 school years ahead of their age But I think it's not great for general classroom use to use materials designed for pupils more than twice their age.

[Sleepyfergus]

Good god, she's not come back with 'the joy of sex'. She's been told the truth albeit they have missed out a few steps which would be meaningless to a 3yo at this stage.

And don't tell your dd that animals are hugging if they are meting. Tell them they are making a baby monkey/dog/zebra whatever! That's the truth and there is nothing sordid about it. . She'll prob move on and be quite uninterested but at least you won't have lied to her

[Costacoffeeplease]

Would you rather have an embarrassed conversation when she's 8, 9, 10? Much better that she learns facts from an early age, and that that learning continues. I don't get all the angst actually, and I was brought up catholic too

[AuntieStella]

I think the problem is that a 3 year old is unlikely to benefit from materials written for 7/8 year olds.

It's not specifically SRE problem, it would be just as problematic with any curriculum subject.

[BertrandRussell]

Wonderful.

Can you explain why you think it's a problem?

[ShelaghTurner]

I was brought up Catholic and my children are being brought up Catholic. I'd have no problem with my 3yo being taught this. She hasn't asked anything yet and my 7yo only asked this year and she was told everything in an age appropriate way. I'm quite happy for the ball to be set rolling earlier with dd2.

[PotteringAlong]

Don't tell her they're just hugging! They're not!

[PaulCardiff]

Playing mummies and daddies will reach a whole new level.lol, thats my wifes idea.shes brought up Catholic.i know that when I was 5 I knew a lot through my older bro.and I also know my mummies and daddies reached a new exploritary level.but I tell her that I turned out ok.

[Besom]

You say 'yes that's right daling'. That's not very likely to happen though.
My Dd is 7 and I have always told her factual information. One of my dogs tries to hump the other one regularly and I've told her that the dog wants to try to make puppies. Doesn't mean she understands anything about sex however, she doesn't.

[MrsUnderwood]

It's science, dude. Nothing corrupt or lascivious about it. By lying or being embarrassed about the way life is made it is setting it up in her mind to be something shameful.

[PrincessHairyMclary]

No problem with any child being taught the facts of life. My DD is 6 and knows more about reproduction than some of the year 7 children I work with. If you talk about it in a matter of fact way from the start it's not going to be an issue.

And as for 2 Animals going at it why can't you say they are making a baby?

[AuntieStella]

Using a resource designed for 7/8 year olds in a nursery to 3 year olds is a problem. In every subject, including this one.

It is important to have a good SRE curriculum.

It is important within that to use age-appropriate materials, and something designed for children 5 years (and 2 key stages) older is wrong.

[Whatthefreakinwhatnow]

hugging?!

[Fugghetaboutit]

My ds loves the book by Babette Cole 'Mummy laid an egg' and he's 3 soon. It's science!

[bittapitta]

Does she have siblings/younger cousins? Hasn't she asked about how babies get into mummies tummy etc? All sounds like it has been taught to her in an age appropriate way to be honest.