Allison has been all about babies lately. I think it's because the mother of her friend at school just bad a baby. Also, one of her teachers had a baby a few months ago.
So she gets that babies grow in "tummies." Actually, one of the first conversations we had about it was that only girls could have babies in their tummies, not boys. Jacob was upset for a nanosecond and has now gotten over it.
So one day we were playing school and she and I were both supposed to pretend we had babies in our tummies. We had to take a field trip to the doctor's office (a.k.a. Jacob's room) to get the babies out. It was then I learned that Allison thought babies came out of your mouth.
Now, it's not like the kids don't realize they have different parts, and I do try to call them by the appropriate terms when necessary. It's just that reproduction has never come up, and I don't seek it out as a topic. So, here we are with babies coming out of our mouths.
OK - it's time for a talk. So I decide to check out reinforcements at the library - a good book with some kid - appropriate pictures. While we were at the library last Sunday, I checked out the parenting section. This is the area with the "Susie has two mommies" and "Where does Grandma go when she dies" books. I thought it would have a basic book about where babies come from. No. I found something passable, but nothing I liked. There was even a book approved by Dr. Laura Schlessinger that had everything between "Mommy and Daddy get married" to "We brought you home from the hospital" represented by a heart-shaped box and a statement about God thinking Mommies womb would be perfect for you.
So, I followed this up with an internet search and a better place to look in the library and a specific title to look for "It's so Amazing." So this week I pick it up - it is a pretty neat book. At dinner tonight it was sitting on the table and so I flip to the pictures of babies from 1-9 months and show Allison where the "exit hole" is (no - I didn't call it exactly that). there was a picture that showed a baby coming out (not a direct on shot) but I think it got the point across. After a brief - "no it's not an extra hole in your leg" question from Jacob - Allison declares "So I came out of your butt!!" followed by - "can I watch my bedtime show now?"
I think I'll bring the book out again to make this point clearer - but at least we're getting a little closer......
3 comments:
I remember having the book, "Where Did I Come From?" by Peter Mayle as a kid. It says online it is for kids 4-8. You could see if they had that at the library?
Or you could bypass the whole issue by showing her your c-section scar and telling her that she came out through the escape hatch. If you are feeling really evil you could tell her that giving birth to her scarred you for life.
The whole issue of babies coming out of your feet and or legs has been coming up more and more lately. It is logical when you look at how childbirth is shown on tv or in books.
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