Baby Talk
Our neighbour had a baby recently and Cub was intrigued. Earlier, seeing our neighbour’s baby bump, he had been curious, and I had said that there was a baby inside. To be honest, I was bracing myself for loads of ‘embarrassing’ questions, but Cub didn’t have any. There’s a baby in Aunty’s tummy. That’s all he needed to know.
But when the baby came home, he was a little surprised. Now came the questions.
Cub: Baby was inside Aunty’s tummy, no? Then how did he come out?
Me: They went to the hospital and the doctor took him out.
Cub (Staring at the baby): Why?
Me (Thankful that he didn’t ask ‘How?’): He was growing big, and there was no place in Aunty’s tummy.
Cub: Why did the doctor ask him to sleep all the time?
Me: He’s a baby. That’s what babies do – they sleep, eat and do potty.
Throughout this conversation, I was dreading the question of how the baby got inside the tummy in the first place. But Cub didn’t seem to be interested in that. He was more concerned with why the baby didn’t move much or do anything fun and yet, everyone was making such a big fuss about him.
I have to admit I did feel relieved. Not having to talk about the birds and bees, I mean. I wasn’t prepared for these questions from a four and a half-year old, I thought they’d come later. But looks like it’s high time I have my answers ready!
Here are a few books I found helpful for young children:
A book tailor-made for ages 4 and up. In comic style, a lot of concepts of reproduction are handled in an age appropriate manner, including differences in body parts.
Illustrated and to the point, this book has also been recommended by Dr. Spock.
This book scores extra points for doing away with gender stereotypes. Boys can cry and girls will get angry and feel like punching. Must read for today’s kids.
The Birds, the Bees, and the Berenstain Bears
If your child is already a fan of the Berenstain Bears, then this book might be good to introduce him/her to the topic of ‘where babies come from’.
Fabida Abdulla is a former software engineer turned stay at home Mother Lion to her four-year old son, whom she calls ‘The Cub’. She blogs about her crazy life at Shocks and Shoes.