This week’s Saturday Sidebar Question comes from World Moms Blog writer Maggie Ellison.  She asked,

“Where do babies come from, Mommy? Where are you with this question and how much have you explained?”

Check out what some of our World Moms had to say…

Mama B. of Saudi Arabia writes:
“I have actually never been asked before. I have been asked how the baby is coming out!

Some friends of mine have told their kids the doctor opens their tummy and take the baby out which may be true for some of them, but I have never had a c-section so I say there is an opening very low down my tummy that the baby comes out of. They did ask me if they could see it I said no and my daughter immediately said, “Cause it’s your private parts right?” I said, “Yes, exactly,” and that was it.

Not sure what I would say when I’m asked where the baby came from… at this point I’ll probably say from God.”

Multitasking Mumma of Ontario, Canada writes:
“My daughter is only 22 months. We aren’t avoiding the topic and use correct terms for her vagina so when the time comes I think we will be open and honest.”

Maggie Ellison of South Carolina, USA writes:
“Have gotten a few questions and we are open about it, but keep it age appropriate. Let’s see …they know you need a mom and dad to make a baby, the baby can only grow in mom’s “belly”, women have a special opening for the baby to come out (they were confused on where the baby came out and asked if they were pooped out), and moms make milk for their babies. I may have forgotten things, but that’s the gist. The best was when my daughter mistakenly said “my china” for vagina. :)”

Mannahattamamma of United Arab Emirates writes:
“I have had versions of the conversations with my 11 yr old son–longest one was 2 years ago while he was in the bath…he emerged wrinkly and raisiny from soaking so long. Where do babies come from, do you have to have a man & a woman, can scientists grow babies…on and on it went.

In our extended family, we have children from EVERY permutation so I had to go through a long checklist in my head (adoption, yep, science/in-vitro, yep, gay surrogate, yep, single mom, yep….)  This conversation was a LOT easier in the days of yore, that’s all I’m saying: http://mannahattamamma.com/2009/10/the-answer/.”

Mamma Simona of South Africa writes:
“I had to smile at this question ‘cause I remembered a friend of mine who told her child that she had a baby in her tummy. To this the little one looked at her horrified and asked her why she had eaten a baby!  There was also the horrific story of a little girl who cut off her baby brother’s penis as she’d been told it was part of the stalk from the “Cabbage Patch”.

Bottom line, as with most things, honesty is the best policy. Try and use correct terms as much as possible. I called my uterus a “special place where babies grow” when my son was 2 … in order to avoid the potential “tummy” misunderstanding! Luckily there are a whole lot of excellent children’s books on the subject for all parents who are not sure how much info to give. Honestly, though, nowadays primary school kids know more about the subject than I did as a young adult!

My 2 are now 19 and 16 years old respectively and (every now and then) I just remind them that, should they decide that the time is right for them, I’m willing to purchase the condoms! Of course I’d prefer that they wait until marriage, but I’d rather know they are practicing safe sex than be unaware of what they’re doing and end up with (at best) an unplanned grandkid or (at worst) a child with HIV!!”

Tara B. of Washington State, USA writes:
“I had “the talk” with my 5 1/2 year old son. He is very precocious, and after we had child #2, he wanted to understand how babies are made and born. He loves science and knows that cells as basic building blocks of all living things. So I used that as a place to start and talked about the science of creating and birthing a baby. Then I talked about the love between the two adults (emphasizing LOVE and ADULTS) that should be present to take this step. It was an honest talk, he didn’t seem ruffled by it, and he hasn’t really asked about it since.”

Kyla P’an of Massachusetts, USA writes:
“Surprisingly, my 6yo daughter has very little interest in or awareness of this life miracle, despite having a pregnant mom and a new baby brother when she was 3. She knows it takes a man and a woman to make a baby, she knows the mommies grow the baby and give birth but beyond that, her main interest in the world is where she fits into it (and kindergarten). I look to WMBers for more insight on this one!”

Have you been asked where babies come from?  How have you handled the response?

Don’t forget to visit us tomorrow to check out the travel itinerary for next week!

– World Moms Blog

Photo credit to David K. http://www.flickr.com/photos/plasticrevolver/47581102/.  This photo has a creative commons attribute license.

World Moms Blog

World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children. World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.

More Posts