G was telling me about his day. Someone brought a “Believe It or Not” book to school. I was hearing the story of a woman who had a baby in her stomach, but she didn’t have enough money to go to the doctor to get the baby out. So while she was saving up her money for a doctor, the baby was in her stomach for three years!
Hmm. I told G that this was the ‘not’ part of ‘believe it or not’. I explained that having babies is part of nature and then even if you don’t have a doctor to help, that baby is going to come out.
G: “How? Where does it come out? Of your mouth?”
Meg: “No honey. (deep breath) Babies come out of vaginas.”
His face contorted with horror. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. “That must really hurt!” he said. I confirmed.
So I think it’s time to have “the talk”. Now that he knows how babies get out, it’s only a matter of time before he wants to know how they get in there in the first place.
This is a big moment and I don’t want to be unprepared. I’ve ordered “Where Did I Come From” and I’m gathering my thoughts.
I can use all the help I can get – any suggestions?
Heehee! Great job, mom! I can just hear your conversation and am cringing a little for you. You’re already doing the only thing I know how to do — answer honestly and with real words. I am doing some deep breathing just thinking about the inevitability of when the time will come in our house to have “the talk”. Ugh, and good luck!!
Starting with a book is a good way to go, and that book is informative and entertaining. My suggestion: skim the Amazon customer comments about the book. They can help identify any missing components that the book doesn’t touch on. For instance, ‘good-touch bad-touch’ might be a worthwhile side note to the discussion. Also the book talks about mommies and daddies, but never specifically addresses issues of maturity and consent.