You bet, kid. The root canal was still bugging me and the bed with fresh sheets and the doubled up duvet was calling to me. I read her a chapter of Julie Tells Her Story (because she has entered that American Girl doll obsession stage) and then she picked up her book and I picked the Sunday magazine.
Mommy, what's z-y-g-goat?
Zygote, I tell her, and then I ask What's a zygote? knowing that she knows the answer, because she's reading It's NOT The Stork.
She tells me that it's the combination of the egg and the sperm and goes back to her book.
Mommy, can I read something to you?
The parts of our bodies that are under our underpants or bathing suits are called “privates” or “our privates”. If you touch or rub the private parts of your own body because it tickles and feels good, that’s an “okay touch”.
I do that!
I put down my magazine and we have a little talk. It's okay to do that, but it has to be in private, and you're the only one that's allowed to do that.
She goes back to reading, I pick up my magazine again. She moves on to her next book.
Mommy, what's n-e-p-h-e-w?
Phew. She doesn't ask me to explain Zen. No more hard questions for one evening.
Sigh. Yeah. My girls have never been into American Girl I think because they never showed much interest in dolls in general, apart from Barbies. I haven't had this discussion with Red yet but its coming.
ReplyDeleteI've had this discussion. Sadly, it comes up ALL THE TIME...much to the shock and horror of my husband. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have handled it beautifully. Well done, you!
Hurrah for calm & reasonable parenting.
ReplyDeleteLOL...that girl is going places!
ReplyDeleteWhew! But way to handle that special parenting moment!
ReplyDeleteoh, my. what is with these kids lately?
ReplyDelete(you did great.)
apparently you didn't get Christine O'Donnell's memo?
ReplyDeletenicely done. there were times with my son when we had to talk about "that's fine, but it is Private, and you have to go to your own room to do that." he was younger; these encounters did not feel graceful.
ReplyDeleteWhew, that's a lot packed into one conversation. Nicely fielded.
ReplyDeleteYou can bet your zygote that was not the way my mother told me. ;-) Way t' go, babe!
ReplyDeleteT.
Thinking, no, knowing, I am overdue for ordering a few books.
ReplyDeletexo
erin
KayTar has been a fan of this particular activity for a long time...before she understood the concept of PRIVACY at all. She calls it "wobbling" and we still discover her doing it places other than her room and have to remind her that is a non-spectator sport.
ReplyDeleteAs a side note, any incarnation of the word "wobble" is now absolutely hilarious to Josh and I. In genetics, there is something known as the Wobble Effect and I almost could not control my giggles when we covered it in lecture.