“What are periods? Did your body change like it is mine? When will I have my periods? Why do girls only have periods? Does it happen everyday?What happens to boys when they are growing up?”
“Mom, what is a condom? What do you mean by ‘making love’? Do you and Dad sleep like they show in movies below the sheets? How can anybody kiss on lips for so long?”
“It isn’t true that God gift wraps the babies and puts them in mommy’s tummy? Who operates on the wild animals when they are having a baby? How does a baby then come out from wild animal’s tummy?”
I am stumped and at loss of words when out of nowhere my 12-year-old pops one of these questions….I have tried answering most of her queries with as much information as I think is easy for her to digest. The topics end and sits there in her mind where she analyses my replies, formulates some more questions and stumps me yet again….
I am always confused myself about how much information is enough for her at this age and how I begin to explain to her! Her questions seem so innocent and may be slowly I might be able to answer all her queries. But what about the life’s difficult questions……
Can I prepare her for all the questions the growing up years will throw at her? Can I prepare her for the ups and downs of life? Can I protect her from all pains and heart breaks? Should I hide her from evils of the world?
I recently had the misfortune of coming across domestic violence between a couple of a year long marriage….I had never imagined in wildest of my dreams that such a behavior existed in reality….I always thought such things happened in a movie or at some alien place! I was shocked beyond words could explain.
I hope nobody meets such fate but how do you prepare a girl about society’s evil, dirty face without scarring her faith and destroying her dreams?
In another year, my daughter will be a teenager talking about love, boyfriends, commitments etc….I too have to be ready to field such questions and many more.
For now….Simple questions of an almost teen keep me at tenterhooks.
This post is also for A to Z Challenge.
Shoma Abhyankar 
It is tough for little ones, isn’t it….to understand and grasp the meaning of things they see around them….you being the mom will remain the best judge of how much they can take in at this age….i am sure you are doing a good job by satisfying her curious mind….if she learns from you, she will learn the right thing and appreciate the right things…..
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You are absolutely right…it is tough for moms too cause such questions mean the innocence is replaces by worldly knowledge and we see our kids as our babies only.
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Hi,
Here from the A-Z, and have also faced and answered some of those questions and some more uncomfortable ones as well. Answered as required for the child to appreciate our blessings and be aware of the threats, both real and virtual.
Best wishes,
Nilanjana.
Madly-in-Verse
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Thanks Nilanjana for liking my post. I try to reply as best as I can too…
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Shome, did K actually ask those questions? My! I can imagine the amount of patience you must need to handle the volley of those queries, and also that little girl! All the best for the future!
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Yes Shilpa….these and more….sometimes I get little tongue tied and tell her that save the question for another year may be 🙂
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