SKL Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 You can imagine how that conversation went! I'm not even sure she knows the anatomical difference between boys and girls. I danced around the "details," but I probably haven't heard the last of this . . . . I'm not asking for advice or anything, just sharing a bit of a "yikes" parenting moment. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 EEK! I hate being caught off guard with weird questions. It was a good one though! I probably would have said something about Freddie getting it by not being careful with someone else's blood, even though the truth is a bit more um, complicated. Then I would have spent the next couple days worrying that he would freak out everytime he saw blood. Yikes is right! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besroma Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Yikes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 I give general answers to questions like this. I don't know, but generally AIDS is transported through bodily fluids like blood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Aren't those questions great? You were lucky it wasn't in public. Calvin, aged 7, once read caught sight of a passage in my book on a plane ride (I was reading about Magellan's voyages) and asked, in that clear voice that travels from row to row, "Mummy, what's s@d*my?" Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 I give general answers to questions like this. I don't know, but generally AIDS is transported through bodily fluids like blood. :iagree::iagree::iagree: We were in Golden Gate Park one time when my kids were really little and walked through an AIDS Memorial Grove. Oldest DD started asking me all sorts of questions about AIDS and I tried to answer them honestly but in an age-appropriate way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 What a good teaching opportunity. Maybe awkward to decide how much to tell a young child, but if it's any consolation, it's great that your dd asks you about things rather than consulting other people who might not be able to discuss potentially sensitive topics in the way that you'd like. I'm impressed that a 5yo even knows who Freddie Mercury was, because none of my kids would! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Reminds me of the time the Clinton-Lewinski thing was going on and dd asked about oral.... Well, I'm still reliving that one. She was 5 or 6 I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenC3 Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Well do you know from sure it was from s$% or was it intravenous drug use? I would have just said lots of people used drugs in an unsafe way back then and picked up lots of diseases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 27, 2012 Author Share Posted September 27, 2012 Well do you know from sure it was from s$% or was it intravenous drug use? I would have just said lots of people used drugs in an unsafe way back then and picked up lots of diseases. Not exactly, but he mentioned he'd been "promiscuous" before he knew about AIDS. I have this weird thing in my wiring. I can't outright lie. I can rationalize and gloss over things, but I can't say "I don't know" or "must be dirty needles" when I don't believe that's honest. So I do a dance when my kids ask non-age-appropriate questions. I probably should have "the talk" with them, but I'm still scared of it. I don't want their curiosity to take them down unhealthy paths. But it gets harder to field questions as they get older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Do we know how he got it? And is it important to speculate? Why did Magic Johnson get HIV? Is this out of fear that she might "catch" it, a general interest in how it's spread, or a desire to judge different sorts of HIV+ people? I would amswer differently based on which scenario it was. I would NOT get into nitty gritty of promiscuity or drug use with a five year old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Not exactly, but he mentioned he'd been "promiscuous" before he knew about AIDS. I have this weird thing in my wiring. I can't outright lie. I can rationalize and gloss over things, but I can't say "I don't know" or "must be dirty needles" when I don't believe that's honest. So I do a dance when my kids ask non-age-appropriate questions. We don't know specifically how Freddie Mercury contracted HIV, just that he came into contact with some bodily fluids from an infected person. Yes, it's likely he got it as a result of being bi and sleeping around, but it isn't lying to say that you don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Aren't those questions great? You were lucky it wasn't in public. Calvin, aged 7, once read caught sight of a passage in my book on a plane ride (I was reading about Magellan's voyages) and asked, in that clear voice that travels from row to row, "Mummy, what's s@d*my?" Laura wow - that is really tough one to answer in an age-appropriate way especially on a plane. :lol: It even makes the question one of my kids asked about an or*y seem easier. History books need parental guideance warning on them sometimes, "Warning: while learning about this bit of history, your kids will ask embarrasing questions in public. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 27, 2012 Author Share Posted September 27, 2012 Yes, the downside of having a kid who is wired for early reading is that she looks over your shoulder while you're on the computer. She's just asking innocent questions. She has no idea that she's too young to process some things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 27, 2012 Author Share Posted September 27, 2012 wow - that is really tough one to answer in an age-appropriate way especially on a plane. :lol: It even makes the question one of my kids asked about an or*y seem easier. History books need parental guideance warning on them sometimes, "Warning: while learning about this bit of history, your kids will ask embarrasing questions in public. " "Sodomy is named after the city of Sodom from the Bible, where people did all kinds of foolish things. Say, how are you doing with your book?" "An orgy is a crazy wild party where everyone enjoys too much of everything." How'd I do? I'm usually good at coming up with something :D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest submarines Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 "Sodomy is named after the city of Sodom from the Bible, where people did all kinds of foolish things. Say, how are you doing with your book?" "An orgy is a crazy wild party where everyone enjoys too much of everything." How'd I do? I'm usually good at coming up with something :D. You're awesome! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Nice answers. My answer was about like yours, and it satisfied my kid at the time and was true enough. I usually pull out a good answer once I stop :blink: and start thinking again. I'm much better with it now than I was a decade ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 You're awesome! :D :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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