Sunday, December 21, 2008 ;
7:11 PM
I usually try and use this blog to record significant milestones in the kids' life, in our family's life..
I think what I am going to write about is significant too, although it has nothing to do with when they took their first step, when the first tooth fell out and so on.
It's a long story but I will still write everything, hopefully when ds2's time comes, it can serve as a reference.
If you will be offended, please do not read further.
Birds and the Bees TalkRecently I started playing a free online game called Fish Tycoon (just Google this, you'll get many sites from which you can play the trial version). It's something like The Sims, whereby you pretend to be a fish breeder and breed fish. You start with a couple of fish and try to get as many new species as possible, while selling the extra fish you don't want to get more money. With money, you can research fish environment, food and so on to get more species. The aim of the game is to find 7 magic species of fish.
I like it not just because I love Biology and animals, but because I just enjoy this kind of game. I used to be real crazy about The Sims too.
I used to play when I am free when the kids are in school, but they're on hols now. And I've been too evil, cos I ban their Ben 10 (no TV), and no longer let them play computer games, but I'll check my fish once in a while. So then, after both of them displayed especially good behaviour, I allowed them to watch me play the game.
Now, to breed more fish, you have to mate them. To mate them, you have to choose the species you want, say, a goldbulb and mate it with a beta. When you mate them, the game has a kissing sound effect. Unfortunately, the kissing sound is very loud.
This led to the Q, "mom, do you get pregnant by kissing too?"
Ah ha..
In the past, they used to ask me how babies are formed, and so on. Which I honestly truthfully answered the scientific way, since that's how my mom taught me and hey, I am a Bio teacher.
I tell them you need a sperm cell and an egg cell, to combine together. It will grow and grow until the baby is formed completely and ready to be born.
I will tell them the sperm comes from the daddy and the egg from the mommy so in the animal world, and for humans, you usually need a couple to get babies. We're leaving out asexual repro and parthenogenesis here, ok, students?
They are satisfied at that. At various times, I might elaborate on the stages of the baby, like what is formed in them (heart, lungs etc), when they mature... And I might tell him that once he hits puberty, then his testes will start producing sperm. And girls already have all their eggs in the ovary.
Well, today I replied to his earlier Q, "err, no, you can't get pregnant by kissing alone." Which is the truth. I cannot lie to him.
This will surely beg the following Q. "Then mom, how do you get pregnant?"
Me: "You remember right? The sperm must combine with the egg?"
ds1: " Yes, but the sperm is in me and the egg is in the girl, how to combine?"
Ok, in the past, it has not ever led to this stage yet. I thought for a while... Is it time yet?
To stall for time to think it through, I asked him back.
Me: "What do you think, how can they combine?"
(Meanwhile, I was thinking if telling him meant he will tell the whole world cos he does often talk his head off, especially in school. And whether he has the maturity to understand it.)
Turns out, I think it was a good way. I'll probably ask ds2 back too, if he gives me the same Qs in future. Because if ds2 is not ready, then he'll probably come up with funny ideas and we'll just laugh together and that'll be it. Unless the child is very persistent, then we can take a step further?
So ds1 said: "How does the sperm even come out?"
Me: What do you think? How many holes do you have from which it can come out?
ds1: "Eyes, ears, nose, mouth, anus, penis." He pointed them out to me.
Me: "Good. So which of the holes are nearest the sperm factory?"
ds1: "The penis"
Me: "yup, you're right. That's where it swims out." (He already knows it has a tail, like a tadpole.)
The moment I used the word swim, he had this funny link to the beach!
Ds1: "Oh, so the sperm come out on the beach to meet the egg?"
Me: lol
ds1: "How to find the egg with so much sand there?"
Me: rofl
ds1: "If not, how?"
Me: "The egg doesn't come out. The egg cannot swim, remember?"
ds1: "Oh ya, baby grow in mom's belly hor. So sperm must swim inside to find the egg?"
Me: "Yup."
ds1: "How to go inside?"
........censored.....I did proceed to give a brief explanation, just fyi. And he was satisfied with it, because he moved on to say he's going to find someone to marry once he grows up because he loves babies and wants as many as possible. He even mentioned how much he loves Eva, Ravel and Joshua. So I quickly discussed more about babies and how adorable they can be. And I quizzed him about who he wants to marry.
He does say different names at different times, and once it was Charlene, but now it is Minxi. :-) haha.
rainbows every day, do not worry for the morrow
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