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Too Young to Talk About Sex?
Think Again! By Shel Franco
Why do birds fly? Where does the sun go at night? What kind of bug is that? The never-ending questions of a preschooler. They spend their days absorbing the world around them, and then they turn to you for explanations.
Some topics are easier than others, and most can be answered with a quick trip to the library. But just when you thought you had things under control, your child hears the word "sex."
Instead of shaking in your shoes, swallow hard and dive right in. That's right. Talking about sex with your preschooler doesn't have to be a nightmare, if you let experts and fellow parents help you along the way.
Children will ask about childbirth. Whether it's your pregnancy or a passing woman at the grocery store, the wheels will begin to turn. Sooner or later, your child will ask, "Where do babies come from?" You might be tempted to mention the stork, but Dr. Anthony Wolf, psychologist and author of The Secret of Parenting, says that it is important to speak honestly because you want to avoid misinformation and maintain credibility.
How much honesty can a 4-year-old handle? "With little kids, [you] don't have to go in to a lot of detail," Wolf says. "Whatever you want to talk about, you want it to be simple."
When Denise Cagle-Becker of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. was pregnant with her second child, her 3-year-old daughter grew curious. "She did ask how the baby got into my uterus, so I explained the egg and sperm, and I said the daddy puts the sperm into [the mommy] and the sperm joins the egg [to make] a teeny tiny baby."