Awkward questions children ask

[mexicant]

Originally Posted by unconvinced

Sorry to butt into a thread full of mums but me wee cousin asked me yesterday what a condom was, which was a little bit embarrassing. I wasn't really sure how much sex ed they get in England at age 12 so I just told him to ask his mother. Probably not the most constructive answer but all I was prepared to give.

You poor thing...

Yes, kids do like to ask the awkward questions, huh? I think directing him to his mother was an excellent idea. I know I probably wouldn't be too happy with my nieces, who are a good 4-7 years older than my son, telling him things better explained by a parent.

[beth83]

Originally Posted by unconvinced

Sorry to butt into a thread full of mums but me wee cousin asked me yesterday what a condom was, which was a little bit embarrassing. I wasn't really sure how much sex ed they get in England at age 12 so I just told him to ask his mother. Probably not the most constructive answer but all I was prepared to give.

At the age of 12 all we were told was about periods and that was only because we were going on a residential trip with school and they didn't want anyone freaking out if their periods started while we were away. Condoms are probably 'introduced' at about 14 if I remember correctly.

You did the same thing I would have done. Direct them to a parent so they can decided how much information to impart.

[HMN]

My 4 year old keeps asking where babies come from. I gave her all the avoidance answers like, a baby grows in a mommy's belly. "Well how does it get in there?" she asks. "It starts when a mommy and a daddy decide to have a baby." I say. She says, "But how does it start" and on and on.

I finally just went out and got a book that talks about it, which basically says 'Daddy's boy parts fit inside a mommy's girl parts like a puzzle - then there is the seed that comes from dad, and the egg that is inside mom and they meet up to form a baby'. But that wasn't enough. She then wanted to know how the boy parts fit in the girl parts. I just had to answer - "They won't fit until you're a grown up. Boy parts should never be near your girl parts until you're an adult."

I'll have to get more books. Someone else has figured out this conversation much better than I have!

[KeepItDark]

Originally Posted by HMN

My 4 year old keeps asking where babies come from. I gave her all the avoidance answers like, a baby grows in a mommy's belly. "Well how does it get in there?" she asks. "It starts when a mommy and a daddy decide to have a baby." I say. She says, "But how does it start" and on and on.

I finally just went out and got a book that talks about it, which basically says 'Daddy's boy parts fit inside a mommy's girl parts like a puzzle - then there is the seed that comes from dad, and the egg that is inside mom and they meet up to form a baby'. But that wasn't enough. She then wanted to know how the boy parts fit in the girl parts. I just had to answer - "They won't fit until you're a grown up. Boy parts should never be near your girl parts until you're an adult."

I'll have to get more books. Someone else has figured out this conversation much better than I have!

when i was that young- my mom told me the truth. i never asked her anything about that again.

i dont know if you used these, but here are some decent sites a friend asked me to look ate for her (at the time, her computer was shot):

http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/s...ged/sex.html#4

http://www.babycenter.com/0_parents-...5&showAll=true

[wizard_master]

i find it best to answer young people honestly, however within reason. answering questions comes with youth work
with my younger brother when he asked questions i gave him detailed answers, after a few answers he just gave up asking as he found it to much to take in

[NickHeartsMat]

I usually answer my kids questions, but I give the answer in a way that they can comprehend. Which sometimes means that the whole answer isn't given all at once, I only give as much information as they can grasp at their age and then they know that they can always come back and ask again another time.

My oldest asks very awkward questions on a regular basis, I have gotten used to them. They throw you off at first, and really if I wasn't his mother I would probably be way uncomfortable, but luckily he usually comes to me with his questions. He asks about everything ranging from why his dad and I got divorced, what a period is, why people have wars, why homeless people don't have homes, why I won't have another baby, why do people have to wear clothes, and even more that are way worse

I find that it is easier to just explain it the best way I can than try and redirect him into forgetting the question, because I would rather him hear these things from me than learn it from someone else.

[Freaky]

I'm not too good on the awkward question front, but I bought my 8 year old daughter some books for her to read and said that if she had any questions on them that she should ask, and bizarrely enough I felt more able to talk to her about things because she actually had a bit of knowledge already.

[HurrahforHermy]

When I was little I used to think that when you got married, the priest gave the mommy a little seed to swallow and then you'd have a baby

The other day I was round at my aunt's house for dinner along with other guests and suddenly my little cousin puts his hand down my T-Shirt and asks: "What have you got down there?" It was so funny, but also mortifying lol

[texan_muggle]

I have two girls (21 and 19 now) and I don't recall either of them asking ME any embarrassing questions. I got all the easy ones...math, science, stuff like that.

Now, when I was growing up, my mother informs me I once asked her what "rape" meant. I was 7 at the time.

[MistressofRaven]

I wasn't little, but when I was 13 I asked my dad what a dominatrix was? He just said, "Are you sure you want me to tell you?" So I looked elsewhere

[Pilum]

Originally Posted by texan_muggle

I have two girls (21 and 19 now) and I don't recall either of them asking ME any embarrassing questions. I got all the easy ones...math, science, stuff like that.

Oh I don't know, sometimes I think I'd prefer "Where did I come from?" to having to figure out how to explain evolution (giraffe's necks), geology (volcanoes and earthquakes), paleontology (where are all the dinosaurs?), ancient history (or the Romans?) and astrophysics (admittedly mainly lunar) in terms suitable for a curious 5 year old. Quite good for keeping the brain active though - who needs a Nintendo DS?

[harrypottergurl]

I have 3 kids, 13, 11, and 10. One night when I was in the bathroom my youngest was about 6 asked me why I was bleeding from there. I told her that "mommy's bleed from there so they can have babies." She was happy with that.

As far as death goes all of my kids know about that.

[PotterFanDuh]

Man, I can't even remember how I found out about death...I wasn't exposed to much of it...as for awkward questions, my sister was always more 'open' to asking those things than I was. All that talk about growing up and stuff made me extremely embarrassed. My mom told me about it at 9 or 10 which I think is a good age, right before middle school and stuff starts to, erm, happen. When my sis was 8-ish she asked my mother what puberty was, so my mom started to explain it to her and I went downstairs until the discussion was over. (I already knew anyway, but I was desperately uncomfortable) I'm more open to talking about it now, I think parent-to-child discussion is the best way to go. It will establish a bridge of communication and trust for the future.

I don't have any kids, I'm only 13 haha, but I do have little cousins who are 4, 3, and 1 so I know what to do if they ever ask as they get older!

[MC2456]

I wasn't the kind of kid who asked "where do babies come from?". I think I had a vague idea. I asked more controversial questions, like, why don't two women get married together, or two men? And then, how would they have babies together. I was four then. When I got to school, I had to attend sex-ed. But at nine, I didn't really care. I sat at the back of the sex-ed class playing Poke'mon cards with my friends, or talking about the latest episode of Pokemon/Digimon. I wasn't curious about sex.

I was curious, however, about dying. My mom wanted me to stay at home during my grand uncle's funeral. But I insisted on going. So my mom, her seventy year old cousin who was supposed to watch me (people here don't ask teens to babysit-unless it's an older sibling of the child) and me went to the funeral. That was my first funeral.

[Karebear]

I'm glad my daughter is only 13 months and doesn't even talk yet. I know I still have a long time to think about this but I'm nervous about talking to her about sex. I just don't know what age I should talk to her about it. I got pregnant at a young age and I don't want her to go through the same thing.

I am so not ready for any awkward questions she might ask me.

[BJMJOOO]

In my school, in the UK, I've been having sex education lessons since Year 6 (age 10-11) In Year 8 (12-13) they give kids lessons about contraception and safe sex. When some of the students asked, the teacher said that our area has the highest rate of teen pregnancies in Europe, because people weren't being told about it. As a child, I cannot remember asking any awkward questions, but I do remember my mum telling me about periods and puberty when I was 11. I already knew it all, though.

[Paisley]

I once had a child ask me, "Do you like boys or girls?"

The kid was like four, but it was awkward considering we were in a car full of people.

[SSJ_Jup81]

Well, here's an awkward question I received from the students while in Japan. "Do you love <insert teacher's name>?" I got that a lot, including if I loved certain male students. So my answer was always a neutral, "I like everyone". Got out of that fast. lol I was also asked, if I had a "boyfriend in my apartment".

Another person I know was asked by her students if she'd ever "played sex". Luckily, the main teacher told the students that it was none of their business. The students knew she had a Japanese boyfriend, so they asked.

Oh, and the reason for "played" there is because play and do can be used with "to do". Sex is a noun in Japanese, so for the act, it would sex o suru. There is no "verb" for sex in Japanese. "Suru" can have more than one meaning depending on the context. "Do" and "play" are a couple of them, which is why said students, in attempted English, used "play".