Whenever my son has asked where he came from, I have always told him that he was an egg in mummy's tummy and that egg grew into a baby and came out of mummy's tummy. This has upto recently been fine as an explanation.
The other day my son (4 yrs old) says while we are talking, how did the get there (easy enough) and what made it grow. I started to talk about bird eggs and bees pollanating plants. Not sure though whether he left more confused than before he asked.
Should I just dive in and start talking about how babies are conceived or continue to dance around the subject somewhat. He is logical and I am sure will understand but just unsure about how to approach as if he starts a discussion at say nursery from our discussion will it seem a bit much coming from a 4 yr old?
I did promise him that we would pick up a book from the library on our next visit to help him get some answers to his questions.
Heard this funny story recently:
A six year old boy was busy doing his homework one night when he put his pencil down & started to ask his Mum about how he was born. The Mum was a bit embarrassed & replied 'Well darling, one day the postman rang the door bell and he delivered a beautiful baby wrapped in a blue blanket and it was you!'...the boy was puzzled so went to ask his Grandma how his Mummy was born...she replied "One day we were sitting in our garden and the angels came down with a beautiful baby wrapped in a pink blanket and it was your mum".
The boy was even more puzzled but went back to school the next day to write a story which began "In my family, no had any [censored] for two generations"...
its not easy is it. My 4 year old talks for England...literally - So i'm there with you Zaden on the what if they say something at nursary/school..
I think though its best to do something more truthful than birds and bees...when my oldest (4) son asked we said that mummy and daddy wanted to have a baby so mummy got pregnant and 9 months laters he was born..this was working well untill a close friend got pregnant and then anther and then another... he then started to ask how the baby would come out and how his younger brother (3) came out of mummys tummy..This aspect fasinated him more than the how do babies get in to mummy tummy, thankfully!!
We said that mummy gave birth by pushing the baby out from a special baby hole that mummys have. This of course lead to the whole "what like a poo" conversation! and we responded with "Kind off"!!
You got to be honest and tell them the truth, else you'll end up in a pink blanket, or with your kids not believing anything you say. Especially with bright kids who think logically (and if they're asking you the questions that probably means they are).
Obviously you don't want to give them the whole biology lesson at age 4, but try to let the child set the pace - give them a bit of the answer and see if that's enough for now. You can be sure they'll come back later for the next bit.
Thanks Pablo, been thinking that myself recently. Will let you all know how it goes the next time he brings up the conversation.