And how to respond to them
Children are highly intelligent and love to gather up information and learn from their experiences but sometimes they can ask the hardest questions, ones that are awkward to answer for any parent. When answering honesty is always (well nearly always) the best policy but it can be a good idea to leave out certain bits of information to avoid scare mongering till they are a little older and able to understand better. Here are some of the most common awkward questions and how you can answer them as easily as possible.
- “How are babies made?”- How do you explain to a child how babies are made? It is such a hard question to answer but try being honest while avoiding the details. This is an answer that can be altered to make it age appropriate but tell them that when a man and woman love each other they can make a baby and that they were made out of love.
- “Will I die?”- Any parent will struggle to answer this as how do you tell a youngster that we will all die one day. Try to explain that everyone goes to heaven but it won’t be for ages so they really shouldn’t worry about it.
- “Why does he look different?”- It could be a little kiddie with a physical or mental disability and naturally enough your kid will ask questions. It is good at an early age to explain to your youngster that not everyone is born perfectly healthy but that everyone is special in their own way
- “Why were you and daddy fighting?”- Kids sometimes over hear parents fighting and often become confused about it and inevitably ask questions. The best way is to reassure your child that you and daddy were having a discussion but it isn’t anything that they should worry about and tell your kid that you are sorry they had to listen to it.
- “Will Grandma always be sick?”- Sometimes people we love get sick and sometimes they never get better, yet children will find this hard to understand. If it is the case that a relative will always have health issues you should be honest and tell your kiddie so. Tell them that their grandma is ill and probably will never get better but that doesn’t mean they can’t visit or enjoy grandmas company and on days she isn’t very well you can bring flowers and help her at home.
- “Why does my friend’s/my parents live apart?”- As the years have passed we are seeing less of the traditional families and this should be understood by your child for their sake and their friend’s sake. Explaining to your child that some parents live apart as they don’t love each other but do love their kid is a good way to start.
Children are highly intelligent and can actually deal with a lot of information more than we give them credit for. Situations that are difficult for adults can be a breeze for a child such is their resilience. That’s not to say you shouldn’t thread carefully when answering awkward questions but bear in mind all kids are different and one might understand and move on where as others can find it harder. Remember you know your child best and know what they can and can’t understand.
Written by Emma, staff writer with www.familyfriendlyhq.ie and Irish mummy blogger. Check out her own blog at emmasmadjotters.com
