Okay. I need help!

[conuly]

I've asked over in parenting101 and I've asked over in TBW and the answers that I've gotten have mostly been... less than helpful*.

Angelique has been asking (again!) about how the baby is made. She still thinks that we're cooked to become alive, and she presumably still thinks we're eaten, too. Which makes a certain kind of sense, and is why I no longer say that a baby is in a tummy. It's always "womb", and often even "womb, which is near the tummy, but not, because the tummy is for food, right?"

Last time she asked, I told Jenn, and we agreed on getting a book, and... nothing ever came of that.

So today, I want book recommendations. Books that treat the subject simply and plainly and honestly, and that will make sense to a fairly bright four year old, or even a not so bright four year old who thinks, or wants to think, that we're baked like cookies.

And please - unless you have a copy in English that I can buy, no links to scans of that German book that actually shows what goes on prior to conception and says that people have sex because it feels nice. While that's the sort of attitude I appreciate (though I'd of course run it by Jenn and 'dul first!), I don't want it in German. This child is still learning to read, after all!

*_{How do you politely clarify your request without also telling the person who gave you totally the wrong type of advice that their advice is the prime example of the sort of stuff you don't want to say? Somehow, this nice woman managed to hit all three points of things that I did not want! And she meant well, and it would be good advice if I was coming at it from the same direction she is. I felt bad.}

Edit: I've now gotten better advice elsewhere, so with that advice and your advice here, I should be set. I hope.

Comments

[ancarett]

Two recs that are available through Amazon: It's So Amazing and Where Did I Come From?.

Both are aimed at 4-8 year old kids. We have them both (they're on the bookshelf in Constance's room or I'd go get them for more detailed reviews) and I marginally prefer the second to the first but not in any big way.

[cumaeansibyl.livejournal.com]

I'll second the "Where Did I Come From?" recommendation. That was the book my parents gave me, and it explained all the things I needed to know without being intimidating or weird. (The goofy-looking naked people helped.)

[conuly]

Ancarett! You have family named Constance? Really? It's not as common a name as you'd think, I don't have anybody to share it that I know.

(Should I have known that? I feel so remiss.)

[ancarett]

Nah, I usually refer to her as youngest (she's my youngest daughter). She's met only three Constances in her life and the youngest of those was 30 to her eleven years, so I know what you mean about unusual which is nice. We didn't want her to be the seventh Brittany at her school or the third Emma in her class!

[ser-kai.livejournal.com]

Thirded.

[l33tminion]

I also recommend Lennart Nilsson's A Child is Born.

(I know I've mentioned that before on LiveJournal... not sure if that was to you, though...)

[siderea]

How Babies Are Made is what my 'rents had for me when I was 2. I don't remember much about it, except that when I saw that German book, I remember thinking, "Hey, I had a book just like that when I was a toddler, only in English." And that was it.

[tsukikage85.livejournal.com]

What kind of comments were you getting elsewhere?

[conuly]

Nothing rude, just not what I was looking for.

[xmorningxrosex.livejournal.com]

Thank you thank you!

My friend is pregnant with her second, and her son is 4. I guess they told him not that long ago that there's a baby inside, so he hugs the baby every night before bed. But I don't know how much she's explained about reproduction or anatomy, because the other day when she was showing off her 12-week along belly, he lifted his shirt, rubbed his belly, and asked if he's going to have a baby too. And then when he asked why she has a baby and not him, she said, "because daddy loves mommy" and left it at that. sooo i think i'll be checking out the links in the comments here to buy a book or two for him. if you have any other recommendations other than the ones here, let me know if you don't mind!

[conuly]

That sounds like a wonderful gift :) I'll just say, people have very varied opinions about what to tell children when, so you really want to review it with them before wrapping it. You know that.

[xmorningxrosex.livejournal.com]

to be honest, i'm not sure how much they've explained to him about anatomy and sex and so on anyway. we both went to a private school whose idea of sex ed was "fornication is evil and petting or necking are sins that lead to lust and adultery!" and we had no "health" type class, so i want to make sure he's better prepared than we were, and since she only recently told him about the pregnancy, i don't think they've done too much education on that and she seemed struggling with what to say to him. holy run on...you get the point - he desperately needs those kind of books. :)

[ancarett]

Two recs that are available through Amazon: It's So Amazing and Where Did I Come From?.

Both are aimed at 4-8 year old kids. We have them both (they're on the bookshelf in Constance's room or I'd go get them for more detailed reviews) and I marginally prefer the second to the first but not in any big way.

[cumaeansibyl.livejournal.com]

I'll second the "Where Did I Come From?" recommendation. That was the book my parents gave me, and it explained all the things I needed to know without being intimidating or weird. (The goofy-looking naked people helped.)

[conuly]

Ancarett! You have family named Constance? Really? It's not as common a name as you'd think, I don't have anybody to share it that I know.

(Should I have known that? I feel so remiss.)

[ancarett]

Nah, I usually refer to her as youngest (she's my youngest daughter). She's met only three Constances in her life and the youngest of those was 30 to her eleven years, so I know what you mean about unusual which is nice. We didn't want her to be the seventh Brittany at her school or the third Emma in her class!

[ser-kai.livejournal.com]

Thirded.

[l33tminion]

I also recommend Lennart Nilsson's A Child is Born.

(I know I've mentioned that before on LiveJournal... not sure if that was to you, though...)

[siderea]

How Babies Are Made is what my 'rents had for me when I was 2. I don't remember much about it, except that when I saw that German book, I remember thinking, "Hey, I had a book just like that when I was a toddler, only in English." And that was it.

[tsukikage85.livejournal.com]

What kind of comments were you getting elsewhere?

[conuly]

Nothing rude, just not what I was looking for.

[xmorningxrosex.livejournal.com]

Thank you thank you!

My friend is pregnant with her second, and her son is 4. I guess they told him not that long ago that there's a baby inside, so he hugs the baby every night before bed. But I don't know how much she's explained about reproduction or anatomy, because the other day when she was showing off her 12-week along belly, he lifted his shirt, rubbed his belly, and asked if he's going to have a baby too. And then when he asked why she has a baby and not him, she said, "because daddy loves mommy" and left it at that. sooo i think i'll be checking out the links in the comments here to buy a book or two for him. if you have any other recommendations other than the ones here, let me know if you don't mind!

[conuly]

That sounds like a wonderful gift :) I'll just say, people have very varied opinions about what to tell children when, so you really want to review it with them before wrapping it. You know that.

[xmorningxrosex.livejournal.com]

to be honest, i'm not sure how much they've explained to him about anatomy and sex and so on anyway. we both went to a private school whose idea of sex ed was "fornication is evil and petting or necking are sins that lead to lust and adultery!" and we had no "health" type class, so i want to make sure he's better prepared than we were, and since she only recently told him about the pregnancy, i don't think they've done too much education on that and she seemed struggling with what to say to him. holy run on...you get the point - he desperately needs those kind of books. :)