Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Small People, Big Issues

Tonight, the boy and I began "the talk."  You know, the conversation that a lot of parents dread, yet know they will have to have someday?  Yes, THAT talk.  I knew it was coming, and yes, I'm pretty sure that I've been fearing it since he learned to talk.
  So, tonight it happened, and you know what? It wasn't that bad. In fact, it happened so organically that I don't even think I realized it was happening until it was over!  That's always been a fear of mine... how will I ever know how far to take the conversation?  What if I screw up?    Anyone who knows me knows that I'm fairly neurotic, so it should really come as no surprise that I've been worrying for years about having this subject come up.


I can't even remember what we were talking about, to be honest.  Somehow though, the conversation turned to the cats.  The boy seemed very concerned about the cats, and whether they were adults or still kittens.  Now, I am not sure why he was concerned, but he was.  Then he started asking about a cat we used to have, our beloved cat Fuzzby, and he said he thought maybe the cats we have now were still kittens, because they were nowhere near as large as he was.  So, I explained that Fuzzby was just a really big cat.


This answer didn't seem to satisfy him, and he wondered why he was so big.  I told him that sometimes, when cats get neutered, they get fat.  I went on to tell him that you get your boy cats neutered so they don't make any babies.  And I'm pretty sure this is where the conversation went off the rails.  And how.


Now, anyone who knows us knows the boy shares my flair for the dramatic, and in that fashion, he sits straight up and says, "OH.MY.GOD. BOYS MAKE BABIES TOOO?!?!"  I let him digest that for a moment and confirm that yes, it takes a girl AND a boy to make a baby.  And he looks at me, and I'm wondering if I should go farther or leave it there for now, but he just says, "Ok, so a boy gets with a girl and they make a baby together. Ok."  And that was pretty much it.  Conversation started.


I'm quite pleased with how it turned out, and now that it's begun, I think any further discussion will be easier, because we've laid a bit of ground work.  I plan to be honest about it, because I think a lot of times, in an effort to protect our kids, we tend to underestimate how smart they really are and how much they can handle.  I've learned, to that they'll let you know when they've heard enough.  


Ah, the joys of parenthood.  Best.Job.Ever.





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