At what age did you/will you tell your son/daughter how babies are made INCLUDING how the Daddy plants the “seed” in the Mommy? I have told my almost 9 year old (and my almost 7 year old) that the Daddy puts a “seed” in the Mommy and it grows into a baby inside the Mommy’s stomach. They know that the baby comes out of the vagina expect in their case they know they both came out via C-section.
They know about the uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, and sperm thanks to the plush uterus I received at BlogHer and the plush sperm cell and plush egg cell someone sent me. But today my almost 9 year old asked HOW the Daddy gets the “seed” in the Mommy. She is very bright and I have never given her “fake” answers for things.
She knows that girls have vaginas, a uterus, vulva, etc. and then boys have a penis and testicles (we have a boy kitten and she asked about his “butt cheeks” so I explained all about testicles). But I don’t know what age is appropriate for her to know about SEX. I’d love for you to weigh in on this! Please be respectful of all opinions! Thanks!
On a side note- My daughter is actually starting her own blog to write about 9 year old topics like school, friends, sports, and like Mommy, product reviews. I can only imagine her posting the 9 year old view on how babies are made on her blog! LOL I don’t think THAT will be happening since I am the one actually submitting what she types onto her blog. Her new blog is The Sassy Little Blogger. We just got it up this weekend and it is still being designed but bookmark it if you have daughters or sons that might want to read the perspective on things from a girl their age. She will be having contests, etc. too. Parents will have to be the ones to enter of course (18 years or older). Come join the fun!
I think it depends on the maturity of the kid, underlying circumstances (i.e. having been around for a pregnancy and understanding what is going on), and perhaps what the school is going to cover. We just had a pretty in-depth discussion with my 10 y.o. SD. She already knew how babies were made, but it was time to give some more details. Kids get curious. When a child is curious, if it’s done right, I think it’s OK to start answering questions – otherwise they may find answers that don’t line up with your personal views/opinions/beliefs.
I started explaining when my kids started asking – and for my older son, that was at about four years old. Yes, much of it went over his head at that age, but that’s OK. He retained what he could and then would ask again a few months later. By the time he was eight or nine, I think he felt like he had always known.
My younger son was never curious until much later – he’s eight now and we’ve only discussed it once. I think he still hasn’t really processed it, and that’s OK, too.
Great article! I left you my opinion on facebook too. I truly think that it will be different for every child and as a parent, you’ll know when the right time is and at what age. 🙂
I have a friend with a 9 year old who just recently learned about “it”. Her dad is a marriage councellor and she found a book on “it”. It is a book for newlyweds and is written tastefully, but does describe things. She found the book and read it, then went to her parents to ask them questions. This weekend she cornered me with questions. I personally would rather my daughter (6) wait until she is a bit older than that, but girls do mature quickly these days.