Questions and answers

Compare this section with Yahoo Answers and Google Answers. Questions are all related to becoming pregnant, pregnancy, birth and babies.
Go to the Questions and answers index

Curious 3 year olds....
Added: 330 days ago.
Added by: harrycat
Section: General.
Status: This question is Closed. (Questions will be closed after 10 days.)


My 3 year old son is becomming more and more curious about bodily functions. He has asked about sex (which was explained as a special type of close hold parents do that can make babies), childbirth (`babies come out from in between the mum`s legs or sometimes doctors have to take them out of the tummy`), at what age pubic hair grows, why women`s breasts sometimes change shape (!) and all sorts of digestive questions which i have tried to answer as matter of factly as possible. Thing is the questions have become more detailed recently.....for example the other day he asked whether childbirth hurt....i explained it hurt a little but doctors could give medicine to stop it hurting if it became a bad pain (didn`t want to scare him!) and he would not let the subject drop and wanted to know exactly how pain relief in labour worked!! He also asked again about sex....wanting to know `can mums and dads do close holds and NOT make babies`. I try to answer him as honestly and age approriately as i can but he`s 3....i don`t want to ruin his innocence of upset him in anyway with adult issues. Equally i don`t want to make an issue out of things by avoiding them. And he doesnt` let things go and pushes for as many details as he can get on his chosen subject for the day!! Has anyone else had this?!

---

harrycat - 328 days ago kamy thanks - i may dig out my anatomy books and approach it from that angle. I did the same re birth canal.....well, i said "in between a woman's legs" and left it at that!! This week's questions have been more about how long cuts take to heal and what blood comes from (following a fall which involved a split lip). Its weird....people (including myself) were worried I was educating him way too early about sex by saying mothers and father come together in a special close hold to make a baby.....however no-one seems worried about explaining how food turns into poo or where blood comes from. Funny how as a society we worry more about some topics than others.

kamy107 - 328 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) my son was a little older (5) when he started asking these types of questions and i was pregnant with #2. now pregnant with #3 and my 3.5 year old hasn't asked me in as much detail as the older one. i went the "genes" route, telling him that mom's and dad's give half the genes once he started asking in depth questions. and when he asked the artsymamma question about where do they come out, i explained it was called a birth canal. i was a little evasive when he persisted to ask questions. answering with the facts the best that you can is always good. my younger son doesn't really have questions about how the baby got in my tummy, more about how i'm going to feed this baby. sometimes it's cute, and he says "that's where the baby gets his juice". :-P to which i have to clarify that it's milk. anyway, i wouldn't feel to bad, kids are curious, and it's normal, and just keep doing the best you can without giving him too much info! also, i dont' know if you have access, but my sister was OBSESSED with the human body at this age, and we had an encyclopedia which showed the human body in transparent layers. the top layer was the skin, flip that page and you saw muscle, etc, all the way down to teh skeleton. maybe you can find some kids books geared towards explaining bodies (with pictures) and how they work? that would also be useful in the how-food-gets-turned-into-poo discussion. good luck! :-)

ilovechaitea - 330 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) With young children they don't need to know right now. We as parents need to protect their minds until they are age appropriat. At three you can tell them ' I will tell you when you get older' . There is nothing wrong with waiting.

artsymamma - 330 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) I think you are doing the right thing by answering the questions as a matter of factly as possible with as little as info as you can give. I'm 29 weeks preggo and just went through the same thing. I have a 4 yr. old boy who asked about how babies are made and how they come out. I got by with keeping it simple. I said sometimes when moms & dads love eachother so much and have a lot of extra love they realize that they want to share their love and make a baby. Of course he said "but I love you can I make a baby?" Answered with only an adult mommy and daddy can make a baby when they are ready.( Then I emphasized the sharing and love part by pointing out that he has more fun with other kids when he shares toys and everyone gets to play). Thankfully he left it at that. At first I was able to get away with telling him the baby came out of the mommy from a special hole. Then he wanted specifics & to know why he couldn't see the spot. At that point I just told him it was the vagina and it was private, lol. He said ewww pee comes from there too. Can't win em' all I guess. I think the important thing is to know that these do come up and chances are we will fumble through ...but anyone who has kids knows it is just the way it is. Also another thing I picked up is asking him "what do you think, or where do you think, or what did so and so tell you", that way I know where he is coming from with the questions.

babygirl (pink) - 330 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) when my son asks me a question i don't wanna answer, i pretend i don't know the answer then ask him the same question back. If he gives me a harmless answer, am ok with it at least i don't have to make up one.

kristy rose - 330 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) wow what a bright little boy. Who knows hun, you may have a Gyno or Midwife on your hands there :) He sounds very advanced for 3.

bcalove82 - 330 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) I honestly don't think you should avoid it as long as you just keep it short and sweet. Keep the technicals for the preteen years and everything, but this is 2012 and we are not the "cabbage patch" parents. Threes are "why why why why why?" Mine is four now and it never comes up. She has moved on to telling me why for everything.....and talkng, and talking, and talking. I miss her wanting to get answers. But it's just where she is now. Dr. Sears also has some info, too although it is the same as BabyCenter.

harrycat - 330 days ago Lol babypink....mine is also obsessed with spiderman!! Mine does however go to preschool (here we get govermnent funded preschool from the age of 3). I blame preschool regarding the spiderman. LOL next time we look at baby pics i will refrain from making remarks like "that one was only 10 mins after you came out of my tummy"......will hopefully avoid further childbirth questions!

babygirl (pink) - 330 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) harrycat..please don't take offence. I guess you have a special 3yr old. My 3yr old has a recent obsession on spiderman. Just like you, i got no clue where he picked that up from because i monitor his tv and he doesnt go to childcare.

harrycat - 330 days ago Thanks bcalove82 and everyone else for your input. babygirl i am surprised you thought it was made up....i don't think i was clear in the original post....he didn't say "what is sex" he asked "how do babies get in their mummy's tummies" to which his father told him the man gave a woman a seed and it made a baby....following that he asked me how the seed got there and i said something like "mum's and dad's do a special type of close hold". I'm not sure it is really educating way too early about sex. I am all for saying litle then moving on but if a child asks something i find it hard and wrong to out and out lie. To be honest I was more concerned that he was worried about birth and whether it hurt rather than wanting to know where babies came from.....the latter seems more of an obvious question.

bcalove82 - 330 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) Here is what BabyCenter says about this:http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-to-talk-to-your-child-about-sex_65696.bc

bcalove82 - 330 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) Sorry if I andwered twice, I have trouble deleting.

bcalove82 - 330 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) Omg my kid was like that too! The pedi said it was actually part of the three year old mentions and milestones at the appointment so I wad a little relieved to tell you the truth. We only watch age appropriate tv but I do think tney hear stuff from other kids ( she has many friends and is very social and involved in many activities plus I did listen to regular radio in the car which was something I have changed for now because she is a little sponge. . It is absolutely normal and not weird at all. Now the breasts changing shape and stuff is very observant and I never got those qs but I did get asked when she would get her breasts and pimples, lol!. I think your answers were fine. I handled it wrong at first ( whete did you hear that word!? Ee don't talk about stuff like that to kids, etc) which is not great. You are doing what you are supposed to do...answer as briefly and simply as you can, not too technical, etc. Asking qustions about the world is how they learn and how people are born is a huge part of everyday lije

babygirl (pink) - 330 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) i never knew a 3yr old could ask such. As i was reading this, it all sounded made up. As someone mentioned if all you said is true, then you are educating your son way too early about sex. I have a 3 1/2 yr old. I have never heard such come out of his mouth.

harrycat - 330 days ago The main reason i answered honestly in the first place was because when a friend's son asked how babies came out and the mum evaded the question, the boy in question jumped to his own conclusions and was found crying that the baby was going to climb out of his mum's mouth! i think i will ask his preschool teacher if she has experienced this with other children, or whether indeed other children have been discussing such topics in a way which may have prompted the increased interest over the past 2 weeks

harrycat - 330 days ago I started out giving very brief matter of fact answers and then moving on/changing topic, but he keeps coming back....in fact the less i answer and the swifter i change topic the more he asks. i'm not sure its weird to be curious about something though - i'd just rather his curiousity was focused around less adult topics (where i try to direct it!)

2babiesforme - 330 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) Seems very early and weird! My 3 yr old is no where near this? I would stop answering and move on kid related topics. Seems to me too much early education is happening. Just my opinion!

ceandrusis (BLUE) - 330 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) I think 3 is a little young to be inquiring about this. I mean, he must have heard about it somewhere to have so many questions. Is he in school or daycare, etc? I mean, I can understand certain questions that he may have from seeing you or your husband at home like pubic hair or breasts, etc. But I just had my 3rd and even my 5 year old accepted the fact that God puts babies in your belly and decides if you'll have a boy or a girl. I don't think she would even have any idea of what sex is at this point. Unless someone had told her about it or mentioned it to her and then I could see her having questions. She knows the body parts and how they're different but only that it makes you a boy or a girl and she knows you use them to pee, lol. But that is basically it :) It sounds like he already has the info though and in that case, I think it's hard to go back. I would just keep it as simple as possible and not make a big deal out of it and hopefully he'll drop it.

harrycat - 330 days ago He asked how babies are made and I explained mother and fathers do a special type of close hold....i didn't elaborate any further!! I am trying my best to keep it simple and don't really mind i guess just seems a shame at 3 he's worrying about stuff like whether childbirth hurts or not!

ceandrusis (BLUE) - 330 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) I think 3 is a little young to be inquiring about this. I mean, he must have heard about it somewhere to have so many questions. Is he in school or daycare, etc? I mean, I can understand certain questions that he may have from seeing you or your husband at home like pubic hair or breasts, etc. But I just had my 3rd and even my 5 year old accepted the fact that God puts babies in your belly and decides if you'll have a boy or a girl. I don't think she would even have any idea of what sex is at this point. Unless someone had told her about it or mentioned it to her and then I could see her having questions. She knows the body parts and how they're different but only that it makes you a boy or a girl and she knows you use them to pee, lol. But that is basically it :) It sounds like he already has the info though and in that case, I think it's hard to go back. I would just keep it as simple as possible and not make a big deal out of it and hopefully he'll drop it.

Eloiseandharrys-mummy! - 330 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) to me he just seems like hes goingto be a very inquisituve (sp?) clever little boy. Alot of boys love cars and tractors, dinosaurs or aeroplanes, some love the stars and others like bugs. Who knows you may have a doctor on your hands :)

harrycat - 330 days ago To be honest partly its his nature (he also wants to know all about when and how food turns into poo!). The birth and sex questions started when I was pregnant with my now 10 month old and was revisited when we looked at some of his baby pictures. I had a very stressful time breastfeeding, and used a breastpump for 4 months.....i think that experience made him very aware of what women's breasts are for and that they can look different at different times, but it is still embarrassing when he screams "your nipples have gone small....maybe you need to use the breastpump again!" at the top of his voice in a swimming pool!!!

rynze - 330 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) my son is 3 and going on 4 as well and never asked questions about sex and how babies are made. he do know that i am pregnant and asked me does my stomach hurt because of my baby bump other then that no odd questions. im guessing your son have seen something or heard something in relation to what he is asking you but also at this age kids are very curious.also kids being curious about sex and knowing how somethings already work is already in their nature at birth. but you r doing a great job at responding to his questions

Sweetbabylove - 330 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) My son is 3 going on 4 and I have never once had him ask me questions like that. I would have to say he's curious and asking questions because he's heard someone talk about these details and wants to know more maybe. Goodluck