|
When parents explain sex and birth
to their children, they should take into account the child's level
of understanding and allow the child's own curiosity to be a guide
as to how much detail to give.
The most accessible explanation will
be one that is just one level above the child's current level
of understanding. This level can easily be determined by directly
asking the child some simple questions about where babies come
from.
Children can easily sense a parent's
embarrassment or anxiety concerning this subject. To avoid this
problem, it can be helpful to practice role-playing questions
and explanations ahead of time with a partner or friend.
A common misconception among children
is the "digestive fallacy," or the belief that the baby
enters and exits "mommy's tummy" in the same way food
does. Children need to be reassured that their anxieties about
this belief are unfounded and they need simple, accurate information
about sexual intercourse.
Often, children take such words
as "egg" or "seed" too literally and create
fanciful accounts of birth, using an agricultural or animal analogy.
It can be helpful to address these misperceptions directly using
simple pictures or models of male and female anatomy. Children
may need to ask questions and hear explanations repeatedly until
they can adequately process the new information.
At any age, it's important not to
inundate a child with incomprehensible facts or to make a child
feel stupid or foolish because she looks at reproduction in a
fanciful way
.
|
