My brother’s girlfriend is due to have a baby on January 22, 2002. That’s all well and good, and everyone’s excited, and the pregnancy looks terrific so far, and blah blah blah.
I have a four year old nephew. Less than 5 minutes ago…
“How are we going to get my cousin out, Mom?”
(Apparently he asked That Pregnant Chick, but she said “I dunno, go ask your mom”.)
It’s not very surprising that he asked. I mean, all of a sudden Dani got real round in the belly area and everyone keeps telling him that there’s a baby in there who will be his cousin. Of course he’s going to wonder how it’s possible for HER tummy to become HIS cousin.
But how the heck are you supposed to respond to that?
Well, I have a 4-year-old daughter. It’s been a couple of years since her brother was born, so she wasn’t really asking very specific questions at that point. If she asked today though, I’d tell her that women have a place for the baby to come out called a vagina. Chances are he’s learned the names for male and female parts. The only catch is that I expect most kids assume women pee out of their vaginas, since it’s usually contrasted with the penis. He might need a bit of an anatomy lesson.
My experience and my opinion - always answer honestly, using vocabulary appropriate to the age. Kids can be messed up if they’re started off with a lie then discover the truth - my mom was so uptight about sex, I had to learn it all on the street!!
