“I think I have a question for your site! How do explain where babies come from to a 5 year old!! Lol”
This is an excellent question! Talking about the Birds and the Bees with children can be a serious task, but it’s not impossible. My first encounter was with my sister who was seven at the time. We went to a local zoo, and the howler monkeys happened to be having sex when we stopped there. Full on action – I was mortified! My sister looked at me and said “Are they having sex?” I smiled and told her yes. She paused, looked at me again and said “What’s sex?”
Awww man.
It was a quick, comfortable and effective conversation that I’m honored to share with you all. Following a few basic rules and tips can eliminate this problem for another 13 years 🙂
1. Keep it Mature
Do you call your child’s genitalia a “hoo hoo?” “Tea kettle?” “pokie?” While pet names can be more comfortable for the parent, it is essential that children know and understand their body parts at an early age. In case of an emergency, your child should be able to describe their injury in detail.
“I fell on a rock and hurt my pokie” is not as detailed as “I fell and hurt my vagina.”
2. Keep it Simple
“Mommy? Where do babies come from?”
“Well, honey – sometimes when a man and woman love each other, they do something that is called sex.”
“What’s sex?”
“Sex is when a man puts his penis in a woman’s vagina. Sometimes when they have sex, they make babies.”
“What’s a penis and a vagina?”
3. Get Familiar
When was the last time you looked at a genital diagram? Knowing the anatomies of a penis and a vagina are crucial to the talk. Kids know when we don’t know what we’re talking about – make sure you do.
The Vagina:
No, you don’t have to tell your five year old about the mons pubis or labia menor. The goal is to make sure he/she identifies what the entire unit is by sight.
“This is a vagina. Girls have vaginas; they use them to pee and when they become women they can use them to have sex.”
“Babies come out of a woman’s vagina.”
They may point to various parts and ask what they are. Answer them as best you can, in the simplest, to-the-point way possible.
The Labia keep dirt out of the vagina, because it likes to be clean.
The Urethra is where pee comes from.
The anus is for making number two. (You can call that poop or doo doo if you’d like)
Most five year-olds are not big on reading, so don’t expect them to point to big words and ask what they are. Simplicity is key.
The Penis:
“This is a penis. Men have penises; they use them to pee and when they become men to have sex.”
“Mommy? What is that ball right there?”
“That is a testicle; men keep their sperm in there. Sperm goes in a woman and makes babies.”
How?
To be continued…
To view the enlarged version of each diagram:
I like, simply explained and straight forward. I’m just approaching this subject with my nine year old boy! Thanks Kimi
Thank you for your article – I just wanted to make a small correction. The clitoris is not where the pee comes from. Urination comes from the urethra. The fluid which comes from the clitoris during an orgasm comes from the urethra, but is not actually urine. Which is a moot point since your post is about body awareness for children, but still it’s better to be accurate and not give the wrong information.
Thank you for your feedback! Yes, this article was to outline the basics of speaking to children about sex and body awareness – but we do strive for accuracy at VForVadge.com. I have made the necessary changes to the post, and hope you’ll continue to visit us in the future 🙂
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