Questions Kids Ask
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Posted by Wei Yin Wong Jan 27, 2009 |
All kids ask these questions. And almost all parents dread answering them. But answer the questions they must. I'm referring to questions related to babies, birth, sex, puberty and the human anatomy.
As a child, I had my fair share of profound questions for my parents too. Not surprisingly, they often gave me answers that didn't really make sense. They were embarrassed and got uncomfortable whenever I asked one of those questions.
The teachers at school didn't help much either. My science teacher in Year 7 actually skipped the chapter on human reproduction because he didn't know how to handle his students' curiosity! Imagine our frustration and annoyance!
I'm a parent now and my two kids have started asking those questions too. At first, I too was stumped. But having done some research, I found one particular book that has answers to all those big questions. It's a book by leading parenting expert Dr Miriam Stoppard entitled Questions Children Ask (London: Dorling Kindersley, 2002). In the book, Stoppard shares ideas on how to answer questions related to intimacy and birth, questions about relationships, questions about differences between people and questions about the unknown.
The most important thing for parents to remember is to answer these questions as truthfully as possible. Keep the answers short and try answering them in words that kids will understand. I've written a few articles using Stoppard as my main reference. The following are some of these articles. I hope parents find them helpful.
What are Mum and Dad Doing in Bed?
Teaching Children Tolerance and Acceptance
Teaching Children Kindness and Empathy
