I got asked today ... "Does Jakob have a Dad?" (and my heart began to race)
TIMMY (a 5-year old with a now made-up name) "Does Jakob have a Dad?"
ME: "No."
JAKOB: "NO! NO! NO! But I have a Grandpa. And a Grandma. And a Mommy and a Momma. And a dog." (I was so proud at this moment)
TIMMY "So ... Um ... So .... So ... So .... Where did Jakob come from?'
ME: "He grew in my belly just like you grew in your Momma's belly."
TIMMY "Oh. Okay. I think .... But you need a Dad for that to happen."
ME (moment of panic and a VERY LONG pause)
TIMMY "Is that the guy in the white truck?"
ME "Huh?"
TIMMY "There is an old guy that comes to your house in a white truck." (sorry Grandpa)
ME: "No. That is Jakob's Grandfather. My Dad."
TIMMY "So you have a Dad?"
ME: "Yep. I have a Mom and a Dad. Most kids grow-up in families with both a Mom and a Dad but some kids grow-up in a family with two Dads, or just a Mom, or just a Dad, or two Moms, like Jakob and Alex."
TIMMY "Oh. Okay .... Jakob - Do you want to play with my transformer?"
and then our neighbor TINA (a 12-year old with a now made-up name) who had been standing with us goes "He SOOO does not get it!"
I think I did okay for my first time!
And another funny conversation after bath tonight.
Jakob was getting out of the tub ...
Jakob: "I naked. I naked. I naked, naked, naked ... "
Me: "Yes. You are naked Jakob."
Jakob: "You are born naked."
Me: "What? Where did you learn that?"
Jakob: "From Grandma."
(and for the record Grandma did not teach him that)
Mary
Good job, mom! You've survived the first of what I'm sure will be several conversations like that in the coming years. When Grace was around 2.5 she talked about "dads" often. She was joke with us and say, "I have a Dad" and before we could correct her she would crack up laughing. To her, it was a total joke because she knew she didn't have a dad. That's something that I think we've done a good job of being very clear with her about and it sounds like you all have done the same. For Jakob to immediately correct the kiddo and proceed with a full breakdown of his family tree shows that he knows who he is and where he comes from. That makes me happy. :)
ReplyDeleteThe boys SO do that all the time now! They think it is a riot. They are a bit obsessed with the idea of "having a Dad" at the moment but completely understand that they do not have a Dad. It's interesting to watch them process these ideas.
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