9yo boys and anatomy

[hsingscrapper]

Dragon was looking through the Rainbow Resource catalog and said he wanted to know more about female anatomy! I tried really hard to hide my shock and asked him why.

 

He said "because I want to know how a woman's body works."

 

He also found a book on how babies are made.

 

I am soooo *not* ready to have this conversation with him.

 

Help!!

[....]

Ugh! I also have a 9 yro boy. :svengo: He still thinks girls are creepy and Star Wars Legos are awesome...so if I can just get him to remain in that phase as long as possible... :001_unsure:

 

So, what book did you get? :D

[hsingscrapper]

None yet. I'd like to get something that covers the human body in general and will be a good reference for the family as a whole.

[Cassy]

:lol: I carefully avoided that part of anatomy when we studied the human body when DS11 was 9 yo. Earlier this year DS13 expressed concern that DS11 knew nothing about human reproduction and might be teased when he started school this September, so I then went through it all in a very clinical, businesslike manner. It all went fine until I got around to the details of how the man's seed was introduced to the woman's egg, at which point DS11 just looked shocked and said "That's really disturbing!".

[hsingscrapper]

:lol: I carefully avoided that part of anatomy when we studied the human body when DS11 was 9 yo. Earlier this year DS13 expressed concern that DS11 knew nothing about human reproduction and might be teased when he started school this September, so I then went through it all in a very clinical, businesslike manner. It all went fine until I got around to the details of how the man's seed was introduced to the woman's egg, at which point DS11 just looked shocked and said "That's really disturbing!".

 

:lol::lol::lol: So what book did you end up using? Did I mention this same child wanted to watch a youtube of a c-section because Mom was having one?

[*********]

Dragon was looking through the Rainbow Resource catalog and said he wanted to know more about female anatomy! I tried really hard to hide my shock and asked him why.

 

He said "because I want to know how a woman's body works."

 

He also found a book on how babies are made.

 

I am soooo *not* ready to have this conversation with him.

 

Help!!

 

HA! I need to get YOUR 9yo boy to befriend MY 9yo boy.

 

Just the other day, I tried to convince Zee to let me teach him how babies are born. I got :001_huh: and "No no no Mommy. I don't want to learn about *that*.' (The boy's a tad squeamish about anything he considers medical in nature. :D)

 

I did warn him that it would be necessary for me to teach him the facts regarding that sometime before he got married. :tongue_smilie:

[Paige]

We did anatomy for science when my DS was about that age. I think it was a natural way to introduce how things work with minimal awkwardness. It was just another chapter. I put that chapter last so he was as old as possible and it worked well. DS started anatomy at 9 and finished the reproduction unit just before he turned 10. He wasn't asking questions yet, but I wanted to get the info out to him before he started questioning. We used Winter Promise's anatomy but the main book w/ the reproduction lesson was this one: The Way We Work. I thought it gave a very accurate and clear explanation without being sensational. I liked it overall for the rest of the body too. I thought it presented a lot of good and detailed scientific info at a kid's level without dumbing anything down.

[Mandylubug]

There is a coloring book for anatomy that looks really good. It has short summaries before each picture, etc... I haven't purchased it yet but it is on my "purchase" list! It includes the reproductive systems of males and females.

 

Anatomy Book. I have considered doing a full year of anatomy since all of my kids are interested in the human body, how organs work, etc. I always loved that part of science myself. We were scheduled to do Astronomy but I haven't purchased the curricula yet... So, we may change gears :)

[Just Kate]

Interesting. My boys have been asking about it since they started talking. Seriously! But somehow the part about how women pee (verses how men pee) has alluded them. I heard my 10 year old tell the 7 year old it comes out their butt. :001_huh:

 

I use my college A & P book for pictures/reference.

 

:lol: My 8 yr old ds has said several times that "moms poop their babies out". That boy has watched way too many nature shows!!! (and obviously doesn't understand exactly what he's watching!)

[dbmamaz]

last year when we were cleaning out the shelves, my then 8-yo wanted to get rid of "where did I come from" because the pictures were 'inappropriate' . . i read that to all of my kids before they were 5!

 

But still, now that he's 9, youngest ds seems to be thinking more about these things. Our science this year is just a big bin of science readers, and he has to read 15 minutes and do one sentence of copy work from what he read. He is currently reading the book I bought for his brother a few years ago, "a boy's guide to becoming a teen." I have offered to let him read his sister's book, which i also still have, which I think is my body myself for girls, but he was not interested in that.

 

the 'talk' has been drastically different with each kid so far, tho admittedly that was one girl and one boy. Who knows, maybe dh will actually be willing to handle some of it this time, since it is HIS kid . .. but dh is way more uptight about this stuff than i am

[ocelotmom]

last year when we were cleaning out the shelves, my then 8-yo wanted to get rid of "where did I come from" because the pictures were 'inappropriate' . . i read that to all of my kids before they were 5!

I almost responded the exact same way that I always do when you post this, before realizing that it was you :p

 

I still think the illustrations are a bit on the excessively creepy side :p

 

I think that going over reproductive anatomy at around 9 is probably easier than it is once they start to get hormonal.

 

Two resources that I've found:

 

http://www.fpa.org.uk/media/uploads/professionals/4youmarch2010nonprinting.pdf

http://www.healthpromotion.ie/health/inner/busy_bodies

 

(To state the obvious - pre-read to see if they're appropriate for your family. They're not going to be for everyone)

[Alte Veste Academy]

My kids are fascinated with The Visual Dictionary of the Human Body. If you use the search inside feature to find the pages on the reproductive system, you can get an idea of how it's covered. I personally wanted to have this discussion sooner rather than later, before physical changes, hormones, and potential misinformation from others got an opportunity to create embarrassment where none should exist. The book led to questions, exactly as planned. Out of the blue one day, DS9 asked, "But how does the man get the sperm in?" Why, thanks for asking! :lol: We recently had the talk with DS9 and DD and it went really well, but I have no sense of awkwardness about these things and even though it was the talk, it wasn't the first talk or last talk.

 

The information comes steadily and appropriately, as questions arise. They all knew about periods (very early, actually, because of a non-locking pocket door on the master bathroom :lol:). It was very easy to say that blood is the perfect nest for a baby while it's growing in mom's body but that the body makes a new nest every month. They know how babies are born. I'm not one who thinks that the information takes away any kind of innocence though. It's just biology at this point, although we did/do discuss loving relationships and all that too.

 

My parents idea of sex ed was to hand me a copy of Where Did I Come From? and walk away. It's a fine book (and I still have it :lol:) but still. There was no discussion, no sense that I could come to them with questions, just awkward embarrassment and a palpable silence. Geez, I didn't even tell my mom when I started my period. I just snuck "tampons" onto the grocery list. How pathetic is that?! That was the level of communication about "privates" in our house. I'm running this family differently, to say the least.

 

Sorry for the rant. :D

[Alte Veste Academy]

Dragon was looking through the Rainbow Resource catalog and said he wanted to know more about female anatomy! I tried really hard to hide my shock and asked him why.

 

He said "because I want to know how a woman's body works."

 

He also found a book on how babies are made.

 

I am soooo *not* ready to have this conversation with him.

 

Help!!

 

I am also wondering, how much does your DS13 know? Because I didn't want to have the conversation with DS9 only, knowing he would share with DD and DS6. After having the conversation with DS9 and DD, I got an age-appropriate book for DS6 because no way do I want him to learn about the process from his brother and sister in any sort of telephone game gone wrong. :tongue_smilie: Anyway, just wondering if it's possible that your DS9 knows general stuff and might be making an attempt to put the puzzle together properly. If so, that's great! And he's come to you for information, all the better! It shows a comfort level with you that is important for these things.

 

I think people get embarrassed to have the talk because they have a different connotation to sex that young kids just don't. Come from a place of science teacher and you'll be fine! Our talk was all science, science, science, with a healthy dash of loving relationship at the end. :D

[dangermom]

My two girls are very different--it's funny. :001_smile: The older one has always been very curious, and asked lots of questions about birth and babies etc. from an early age, which I answered. When I asked her if she wanted to know how babies got started (she was just 8), she said "Yes! That is one of the big questions of my life!" :lol:

 

Younger sister is now 9 and does not want to hear it. At all. She only wants to think about ninjas and Legos. Pretty soon we are going to sit her down and make her listen.

[LittleIzumi]

Joanna Cole has a great book on how babies grow, but I forget if it addresses that exact question. My oldest was pretty much interested from the time she could talk, like Wendy's kids, and my next kid wanted to know some, too. I've supplied them with scientific explanations via a medical terminology college textbook with clinical drawings/pictures. I did not specify exactly how the sperm and egg meet, but dd figured that out all on her own her second foray into the topic. :tongue_smilie: There's a tab a here and a slot b here... item must get from subject a into subject b... apply engineering brain... got it. :lol: And now she knows and is satisfied and has moved on to other things. Oh, I did add a bit about how God designed it that way, etc.

[hsingscrapper]

My 13 yo is in the know. He asked when we were expecting our youngest.

 

"How did the baby get in Mom's belly?"

 

We told him about the sperm fertilizing the egg. He then wanted to know how the sperm and egg got together. :blushing: We tried to tell him as plainly as possible by reminding him of a time when he walked in on us. All he said was "oh" and made it clear he had heard enough for the time being.

[Julie Smith]

I've supplied them with scientific explanations via a medical terminology college textbook with clinical drawings/pictures. I did not specify exactly how the sperm and egg meet, but dd figured that out all on her own her second foray into the topic. :tongue_smilie: There's a tab a here and a slot b here... item must get from subject a into subject b... apply engineering brain... got it. :lol: And now she knows and is satisfied and has moved on to other things.

 

Sounds sort of like here, except I had no book with drawings. I just used words to explain sex from a clinical perspective of how babies are made. I did also explain (when asked) that yes we do still do it. After a bit more conversation Eldest said, "If you are having a nap, or watching a movie during the day I get to play computers. Will you let me play computers if you are having sex?" When I said I suppose so he said, "In that case I like sex". Then he started talking about his plans for some computer game.

 

:$

 

A day or two after a conversation - when all of us were driving home from grocery shopping Youngest asked, "Mom why do you sex Daddy?"

 

Well at the time according to Youngest sex is something I do to Daddy. After all I do the dishes, I do the laundry, I do the cooking, ... Daddy doesn't do anything he just goes. He goes to work, he goes grocery shopping. So therefore since sex is something you do, - then I must do it to Daddy.

[LittleIzumi]

Sounds sort of like here, except I had no book with drawings. I just used words to explain sex from a clinical perspective of how babies are made. I did also explain (when asked) that yes we do still do it. After a bit more conversation Eldest said, "If you are having a nap, or watching a movie during the day I get to play computers. Will you let me play computers if you are having sex?" When I said I suppose so he said, "In that case I like sex". Then he started talking about his plans for some computer game.

 

:$

 

A day or two after a conversation - when all of us were driving home from grocery shopping Youngest asked, "Mom why do you sex Daddy?"

 

Well at the time according to Youngest sex is something I do to Daddy. After all I do the dishes, I do the laundry, I do the cooking, ... Daddy doesn't do anything he just goes. He goes to work, he goes grocery shopping. So therefore since sex is something you do, - then I must do it to Daddy.

 

:lol::lol::lol:

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

Interesting. My boys have been asking about it since they started talking. Seriously! But somehow the part about how women pee (verses how men pee) has alluded them. I heard my 10 year old tell the 7 year old it comes out their butt. :001_huh:

 

I use my college A & P book for pictures/reference.

 

Sounds sort of like here, except I had no book with drawings. I just used words to explain sex from a clinical perspective of how babies are made. I did also explain (when asked) that yes we do still do it. After a bit more conversation Eldest said, "If you are having a nap, or watching a movie during the day I get to play computers. Will you let me play computers if you are having sex?" When I said I suppose so he said, "In that case I like sex". Then he started talking about his plans for some computer game.

 

:$

 

A day or two after a conversation - when all of us were driving home from grocery shopping Youngest asked, "Mom why do you sex Daddy?"

 

Well at the time according to Youngest sex is something I do to Daddy. After all I do the dishes, I do the laundry, I do the cooking, ... Daddy doesn't do anything he just goes. He goes to work, he goes grocery shopping. So therefore since sex is something you do, - then I must do it to Daddy.

 

 

:lol::lol: These are cracking me up. :D Ds(almost 6) thinks babies happen like they do in Minecraft: you feed any two animals wheat, hearts appear, and then POOF! a baby appears. He told me when we were reading about camels that you needed two girl camels to make a girl camel. :lol:

[Julie Smith]

:lol::lol:

 

:lol::lol: These are cracking me up. :D Ds(almost 6) thinks babies happen like they do in Minecraft: you feed any two animals wheat, hearts appear, and then POOF! a baby appears. He told me when we were reading about camels that you needed two girl camels to make a girl camel. :lol:

 

I'm glad you are all laughing with me. (Right! Right! you aren't laughing at me?)

 

But I left out a detail. When Youngest first said, "Mommy, why do you sex Daddy". My husband and myself were in the front seat of the car. We both thought Youngest said, "Mommy, why do you suck Daddy?" After picking our jaws off the floor, dh asked me what I have been telling our kids. (UM- NOT THAT!)

 

After Youngest repeated it two or three times, Eldest explained he meant "sex". :svengo:

 

Talk about a big scare.

(I think I will use up my limit of faces now)

 

:svengo:

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

I'm glad you are all laughing with me. (Right! Right! you aren't laughing at me?)

 

But I left out a detail. When Youngest first said, "Mommy, why do you sex Daddy". My husband and myself were in the front seat of the car. We both thought Youngest said, "Mommy, why do you suck Daddy?" After picking our jaws off the floor, dh asked me what I have been telling our kids. (UM- NOT THAT!)

 

After Youngest repeated it two or three times, Eldest explained he meant "sex". :svengo:

 

Talk about a big scare.

(I think I will use up my limit of faces now)

 

:svengo:

 

:smilielol5::smilielol5: Yes, laughing with you, not at you. :D

[gardenmom5]

a good time to teach where babies come from is when they are still young enough to say "eeeww, yuck, gross, who'd want to do that?":ack2:

 

You can still teach how babies grow inside their mommies without going into that. My son has a cow book that shows the cow giving birth. He loved it when he was four.

[justLisa]

This is cracking me up :lol:

[Ottakee]

All of my kids are adopted and when I told the girls about the mechanics of it all, one of them just looked at me serious like and said "I'm just adopting".

[SandhillsRanchMama]

I'm super suprised that some moms are "shocked" their kids want to know how bodies work. It is something they use everyday, multiple times a day, and we owe it to them to explain things. Just 2 days ago, I had the "birds and bees" talk with my 8 and 5yo. They already knew. I just clarified things. We do live on a farm... thus they do actually see it more than other kids. Also, we need to be teaching our kids.... wayyyyyy before the age of nine, girls parts, boys parts, and who touches them and who doesn't. One in 4 girls is abused, 1 in 6 boys by the age of 18. If mom is embarassed to talk about parts... how are they ever going to tell you if something is going on? I have worked in the abuse feild. It is our job as parents to protect.... and it goes way beyond "don't let anyone touch you there." It starts with education. A 9yo boy probably just wants a simple explanation.

[laundrycrisis]

I think it is great when kids are open enough about their curiosity to just ask their parents for more information. And when they do that, we should give them the information they are seeking....and since they have not learned to be ashamed of their questions, we should strive to not teach them to be ashamed by modeling shame or embarrassment for them. Also, it's much easier to have "the talk" before a child has reached the age of feeling embarrassed about discussing it.

 

I looked at a bunch of books. The one I ended up liking best is "Before You Were a Baby" by Paul Showers. Sadly, it is out of print and it appears that the autobots have run the price up pretty high. But I recommended checking out a huge stack of book from the library to review as many as possible, find one you like, read it with your child, and purchase your own copy for the child to read whenever he wants to return to it.