Birds & bees book for 5-8yos

[Tine]

Hi, Mamas-

Can anybody recommend a good book for 5- to 8-year-olds that explains the basics of human reproduction?

I have a 7yo son and an almost-5yo daughter. DS is a good reader; DD is an emergent reader (so would need me to read to her). They both understand that babies grow in mamas' bellies and how they get out and that breastfeeding is the normal way for babies to eat.

What I'm trying to prepare for is the inevitable question: "But how does the baby get IN there??"

I'll do my best to explain it myself, of course, but would love to have a really great book on hand too. My kids both adore books and will go back to them again and again, thinking about stuff and drawing more and more ideas from them.

TIA for any titles you can pass along!

[mamazee]

It's Not the Stork! http://www.amazon.com/Its-Not-Stork-.../dp/0763600474

[MacKinnon]

My 6 yo has been teetering on the brink of asking THE question. I've been looking for a good basic explanation book as well. So thanks!

[Tine]

Originally Posted by mamazee

It's Not the Stork! http://www.amazon.com/Its-Not-Stork-.../dp/0763600474

Aha! That sounds just about right for us...thanks so much for the recommendation. Any others?

[Tine]

When I checked out the "Stork" book on Amazon, I found this one as well:

http://www.amazon.com/Amazing-You-Ge...pr_product_top

Looks like this, too, might be good for my younger one. Anyone read it?

[Kuba'sMama]

I have a 7 year old son and soon to be 5 year old dd as well! Also find this interesting, as I'm definitely not the "talk about penises and vaginas at the dinner table" kind of mom. Wish I was, but I just can't do it. Keep the books coming!

[Hatteras Gal]

We have the It's So Amazing book. Our kids are 6 and 8 and the 8 yo is the one who is interested in the subject. It's a good book.

[LynnS6]

We've got "It's Not the Stork" and I think it's perfect for this age group.

I actually need to get the next one up the line, as ds is 9 and we need to start talk about puberty. I am soooo not ready for puberty!

[Dukey25]

we loved the "It's not the stork" !

[mizliz72]

DD is turning 7 in a month and while I don't expect to have to cover this stuff now, I figure in at least a couple years I'll have to. She is not my bio child so I don't know when she'll start getting her period - hopefully not at age 9 1/2 like her half-sister! I was 14 and had two older sisters and sex-ed at age 10, so I knew most everything already, but with her older sister being so much older (7 years) and already 4 years into her period, this won't be stuff that she'll learn by watching her go through it first. I don't want to wait for the schools to cover it because what if she matures fast and has her period before sex-ed is offered to her? When is the right age? Should I wait for her to start asking me stuff?

[beanma]

Personally, I think the right age is as soon as they can talk and listen. It's a long ongoing conversation, not a one-time only deal where mom and/or dad get all red in the face and act funny. It's much, much, much easier to start this convo with a younger child on an age appropriate level.

"It's Not the Stork" is a great book. It's recommended for ages 4-7, I believe. "It's So Amazing" is the next one in line and I believe that one is ages 7-9 or so. After that comes "It's Perfectly Normal".

I'm so glad I didn't wait to have a big conversation with my girls when they were in the throes of pre-adolescence and starting to get embarrassed about every little thing. I think I read "It's Not The Stork" to my girls when my older dd was 5 and dd2 was 2!

[cyncyn]

I agree, start early with this if you can. My dd is 7 and just started asking about things. We got the first two books in the series mentioned from the library and they were very helpful. Lots of pictures and some bits are quite detailed. I was glad we started with the first book, to give us a base of knowledge to work with. I felt bad I hadn't gotten it when dd was 4-5 instead of 7.

[Kristin0105]

Yes, what beanmama said this is an ongoing, lifetime conversation not a one time deal. My dd has been asking life type questions her whole life. She understands that animals mate to have babies, she does not know the mechanics involved but at 4 she saw a video on PBS of lions and the lions were mating she asked what they were doing "I said mating". She asked why I said for bonding and having babies. A few weeks later we were out collecting frogs at night and she said look they are mating, they are going to have babies. She is with me constantly so she has seen tampons around the house and has asked what they are for. I have explained how the woman's uterus changes throughout the month and when there is no baby growing the lining sheds each month etc... When she asked at 4 how does the baby grow in there I explained that when the tiny egg is fertilized it grows into a baby. When she asked how it was fertilized I said by sperm. For now she is satisfied by the time she is ready to ask how the sperm gets there she will have all the basic information and hopefully it won't be anymore stressful than any of the other convos we have had related to biology. I think if you are not the type of mom that talks about penises and vaginas you really need to reconsider and perhaps force yourself to because if you are not someone else will and there is a lot of bad information floating around between kids. I want to be my child's best teacher not some child on the playground.

[cyncyn]

When I was a kid my mom had a series of pamphlets that she would give us at various ages. I remember "A Doctor Talks to...5-8 year olds" etc. These would appear somewhat randomly with no discussion encouraged. This approach definitely made talking about body and sex stuff more awkward later. She probably had one talk with her mom, so even having a booklet is something I guess. We were both shy around the topic. I did enjoy reading the booklets, but then, I was a kid who read everything! I swiped my brother's copy of the age 13+ booklet And my babysitter filled me in on the rest when I was about 9...I want dd to be able to talk to me about anything. She has posed some sticky questions, sometimes in front of other kids (like cousins) which is hard. Each family deals with this differently.

[Tine]

So many good responses. Thank you, everybody!

I come from a family that said NOT A WORD about sexuality. Nobody left any helpful books lying around either. Let's just say I'm determined to handle this topic differently.