My son has started asking some questions about gender, baby, sexual differences and characteristics since he was 3, I have to admit that he is a very precocious boy Normally when he shows interest in something, I often buy him the books related to the topics and read him the content. But my husband accused me of teaching a small boy something he's not supposed to know at an early age. I don't understand, in fact I'm not teaching him anything, I'm just telling him something he is interested to find out, like an exploration. I guess it's due to the gaps between our cultures, maybe in Japan all these are taboo subjects?
So, I'd love to hear from you, do you answer your little ones or you do avoid it? I'm talking about how a baby is from, why and how boys and girls are different, when and how and why a boy develops into a man etc.
I really wanted to write in Japanese, but it's beyond my ability Please kindly share your opinions either in Japanese or English, or both. Thank you!
Hmmmm, at least in my case, I would probably try to answer as best as I could, in a way so that my 7 year old
can understand. I do not think it is a bad thing to be curious about those things.
My daughter once asked me how and where a baby comes from, and I explained to her how a baby is created, how it grows inside the womb, and how it comes out. I skipped the part how a baby is conceived because I thought
that it was still too early for her to know it. I started from the "egg" phase. I have a couple of ultrasound pictures, and when I showed them to her, she was fascinated by them.
As for the maturity/puberty talk, we go a little by little. Your situation may differ from mine because you have a son whose gender is different from yours.
Anyway, I have noticed that many Japanese people do not like to talk about things like these with their children. They think it's a big "no no". I disagree, though. I think it is important to teach young people how wonderful the life is.
Skeetah,
Thanks for your concise answer, I'm so intrigued with the fetal memory
topic. Once my son suddenly told me that he was not ready to come out
yet when I was touching my whale-like belly, I was so surprised, I'm
uncertain whether he really remembered it or it was just another
consequence of his dream. Anyway, the topic itself is a mystery and
very interesting!
I've been looking for books about science and biology for my son, but
unfortunately not lots choices in Japan. But I found a very good one
in a big bookstore, with lots illustration and flip-flap things and
very easy to understand, "See inside your body", you may check it out
when your boy grows bigger! Meanwhile I'm still looking for books about
how a baby comes from, I have watched documentaries about fertilization
and reproduction with my son, but they were too difficult to satisfy
a 5-yr-old's curiosity. If you know any good books on the topic, please
let me know, even in Japanese version, his daddy will cope with it
ちえ& TRIN
I guess that's the problem for a boy's mother, as he can see the clear
distinction between he and I when we are taking a bath, that stimulates
his great curiosity to find out the 6 Wh and 1 H(what, why, when, where,
which, whose and how)
I second your idea that we parents are responsible to teach our children
that life is wonderful and we have to cherish it. And I feel much more
relieved after reading your comment, we need not to avoid the topic but
to implant the positive thoughts so that our children won't go biased
and try to seek for other ways to find out the answers.
℃a ,
What's that film in English? It sounds very interesting and very
educational!
Your Mixi friend is such a wit! The explanation is very easy to pick up
but I think I can't tell my son in that way as he may get puzzled
Do you use substitute words for ovums, sperms etc when you talk to your
children? Perhaps it sounds like a digression, but what is the formal
word for penis in Japanese? Sorry if I've brought up any agitation here,
but so curious to find out......
Parenting is really one of the toughest missions in the world!