The birds and the bees
I had an interesting discussion (again) with Nico (5yo) this morning. I don’t remember all the exact words but it more or less went like this:
Nico: “Daddy, am I Thai?”
Me: “No, but you’re part Thai. You’re half Finnish, 1 quarter Thai and 1 quarter Filipino.”
Nico: “I’m not all Filipino?”
Me: “No, just 1 quarter.”
Nico: “How do you know?”
Me: “Well, how you are depends on who your parents are.”
Nico: (not really listening to me) “Ah, it’s because you were born earlier than me so you’re older and you know more.”
Me: “Yes, I was born before you but you’re like that because Daddy’s half-Thai and half-Filipino. And Mommy’s Finnish. So you’re a combination of us because we made you.”
Nico: “You made me? Like when people make toys and cars and stuff?”
Me: “Not really like that but Mommy and Daddy made you.”
Nico: “No, Mommy made me because I came from her tummy.”
Me: “Well yes, but Daddy helped too.”
Nico: “How did you help?”
Me: (after a pause to think) “Daddy’s blood mixed with Mommy’s blood and that eventually became you.
Nico: “Did Reko help too? He was also there before me, right?” (Reko is Nico’s older brother)
Me: “No, Reko didn’t help. It was just Mommy’s and Daddy’s blood.”
Nico: (after a short pause) “But Daddy, how did you mix your blood with Mommy’s blood?”
Me: “Oh look, we’re at the school now. We can continue this discussion later.”
As I was having this conversation with Nico, I could already see myself in slow motion digging my own grave deeper and deeper. I was very lucky that we arrived at the school when we did.
Most likely, Nico will forget about the conversation and hopefully I won’t have to have this talk with him for another 10 years. There’s a chance he’ll remember though and will start bugging me about it. What do I say?
I never had this discussion with my own parents. Also, I never went to Daddy School so I missed the lecture on “How to explain to your child about the birds and the bees.” Perhaps someone with more experience can give some advice?