One of the most common questions a kid can ask is “Where do babies come from?” It’s actually a very simple question, and one that is asked quite understandably. But it’s often a question that freaks parents out. The answers run the gamut from the absurd (the stork) to the heteronormative (when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much) to the religious (God) to any number of other answers.
I’m proud to have backed What Makes a Baby via kickstarter when I was pregnant with my younger daughter.
I’m even more excited to share that it is available for pre-order from Amazon and BookDepository!.
I think this is the perfect book to start an honest discussion with your child about where they came from.
- It uses non gender specific language (some bodies have eggs, some bodies do not)
- It doesn’t assume that the bio parent is the person actually parenting the child (never uses the terms mommy/daddy)
- It mentions that sometimes the new thing made by a sperm and an egg doesn’t grow (which is important to me as the mom of a baby lost via miscarriage)
- It notes that all babies grown differently (which is a way to open a discussion about children with special needs)
- It notes that babies can be born via the vagina or through a special cut (Older daughter was a vaginal birth, her sister was a C-section)
- It asks “who was happy you were born?” rather than telling you that mommy and daddy or some sort of stereotype was what awaited the child.
In doing so, it legitimizes every child. Adopted, born of IVF, being raised by a parent and a step parent, the child of a single parent, and so forth.
I think this is a great book for kids 2-8. Obviously as they age, they’ll want to know more, but this is the only book I like that’s out there for the youngest kids. Please support Cory and Fiona and pre-order your copy for your child or a child in your life!
Filed under: books, Parenting, Pregnancy, Talking to your kids about sex, Toddlers | 2 Comments »
