explaining birds & the bees to a 4yo?

[♥ms.pacman♥]

DS has been asking questions about babies and DH & I are at a loss to answer. The kid is so sharp, and asks a zillion questions so just being vague doesn't cut it. Need a good book recommendation or something (non-religious...the more scientific the better..but at the same time I don't want to gross the kid out or have him blabbing to his teachers/friends at school).

DS has started talking a lot about babies ( saying he wants me to have another baby, that he wants a baby sister...um, eek). We have discussed with him how babies grow in their mommy's tummy, and then they are born...but now he has been asking "But how does it get inside the mommy's tummy? How does it start??" LOL. Well tonite DH said something like "The mommy gets a seed from the daddy and that seed goes with the mommy's egg and that grows into a baby' but then DS asked "But HOW does that seed get inside the Mommy? HOW???" Um, I am stumped....

Any suggestions welcome!! Book recs would be great...

[SnuggleBuggles]

I was pleased with "It's Not The Stork"
http://www.amazon.com/Its-Not-Stork-...+not+the+stork

[o_mom]

Try "Mommy and Daddy get very close and give each other a special hug that only Mommies and Daddies do"?

That's what I told DS2 who then said "Oh, so you and Daddy did that three times?"

[sunnyside]

My friend told her son that it's actually quite complicated and it doesn't always work. Her son responded by shaking his fist three times and saying Yeah, Daddy is awesome. He did it 3 times!

[boogiemom]

My friend told her son that it's actually quite complicated and it doesn't always work. Her son responded by shaking his fist three times and saying Yeah, Daddy is awesome. He did it 3 times!

I am cracking up! Thanks! I needed that today.

[Tanya]

I was pregnant with twins when my older two started asking a LOT of questions. We read "It's Not The Stork" and "It's So Amazing." My kids were probably 4 and 7? Once I got into the specifics, they lost interest in that part. They were not grossed out, it was just way more interesting to talk about the babies eating and pooping inside me. Honestly, it was so much easier than I expected. I just told them that they shouldn't talk about it with their friends because their mommies and daddies would want to tell them that stuff. I don't think it was ever a problem and they sort of forgot about it over time. I had to have the the talk again with my older daughter in the last year or so (she's 11 now) and I reminded her of what we had talked about before and she remembered most of it. Of course, now we added stuff like diseases and being pregnant so young, etc.
Anyway, I think we all make a bigger deal out of it than we need to and it was actually sooooo much easier giving the facts to a young kid than waiting until it's "gross" or too late (friends tell them).
However, now that I have a 3 year old boy that is always playing with his penis and he has a twin sister, I may have to rethink it! Lol!

[Katigre]

When ds1 was that age I told him about sperm and "the great sperm race" to get to the egg, where only one wins. There are good animated you tube videos showing this.

When asked how it got inside I said that when you're a grown up your testicles make make sperm and then his body would give them to the mommy he liked that idea. Now he's 8 and the other day asked me how many eggs I've released so far in my life and how many sperm dh had released, lol.

[wendibird22]

Timely thread. The other day the dog came home from a trip to the vet very VERY excited. He's neutered so apparently car rides are his thing instead of girl dogs. DD2, 4.5yo, noticed and inquired about the wet pink thing coming out from the dog's bottom. DH and I looked at each other with a mix of panic and hilarity. DD1 (7) was content with "that's what happens when dog's get excited" but DD2 wanted to know more. A lot more. I have a feeling questions about babies and bodies is not far away.

[KDsMommy]

I've been reading "It's Not the Stork" a lot with DS1 now that I'm pregnant. It's great!

[maestramommy]

I think you'd just better read, "It's not the Stork" to him. It gives the full explanation, but without any fanfare.