Bone to pick with Dis

[jpeka65844]

At least you didn't have to explain what it means when The Curtains Match the Drapes.

 

[DisneyKevin]

I respectfully disagree. I see your point, but I say let kids be kids. They are only kids for a few years and adults for the majority of their life. Let kids believe in magic and Santa Claus or whatever. But I know that some adults want their kids to know everything when they are five. I have worked with kids myself and those that are told the truth at a young age grow up angry and want to be mean to everyone.

Believe me, I would love to tell young kids the truth but I personal believe that kids should live in fantasy for just a little while because once they are adults reality doesn't always look pretty.

My mom is a probation officer and most of the kids she has on her caseload are kids that were forced to deal with reality at a young age. They had no chance to just play and be a kid. Their life was full of prostitution and drugs. These kids grow up angry because they just couldn't have fun and believe in magic. Now I understand that some kids have same sex parents, but you know, I bet those parents still want their kids to play and believe in something.

Please note I am not going after you or anything. Each person has their own opinion. I just believe talking about an adult subject with a 6 year old may not be the best. I could be wrong, but.......

I've stayed out of this discussion, but I have to jump in here.

I think that are some broad generalizations here that aren't necessarily true.

I don't believe telling kids the truth about certain things makes them mean later in life. There are age appropriate answers to most questions and I think the one posted above is age appropriate.

I also think there is a vast gap between answering a six year old's question honestly and a life of drugs and prostitution.

I also don't believe answering a six year old's question with the answer posted above will remove the magic and fun from their lives. No one is suggesting that the witness a sex change operation.

As an ex kindergarten teacher, I found that answering a child's question is a simple, vague, age appropriate way usually satisfied them completely. I found being evasive and uncomfortable made them question things further.

I was asked by a five year old where babies came from. I responded with "most come from the hospital" and found that that satisfied his curiousity. I found no need to get out the slides and diagrams.

 

[mikelan6]

Please note I am not going after you or anything. Each person has their own opinion. I just believe talking about an adult subject with a 6 year old may not be the best. I could be wrong, but.......

Your child can still believe in magic and Santa, but they can also understand other things. If your child asks you how a plane flies, will you tell them pixie dust? I don't personally have kids, but when my nephews and niece were kids, I'd always explain things to them so that they could understand and learn. They all turned out okay.

 

[jpeka65844]

I was asked by a five year old where babies came from. I responded with "most come from the hospital" and found that that satisfied his curiousity. I found no need to get out the slides and diagrams.

DS was 4 1/2 when DD was born and he asked me "where does the baby come out?" Now, I knew full well what he meant but replied "It comes out at the hospital"

To which he replied "No Mom, where does it COME OUT??" To which I replied "At the HOSPITAL"

He finally gave up and moved on.

 

[wishspirit]

I've stayed out of this discussion, but I have to jump in here.

I think that are some broad generalizations here that aren't necessarily true.

I don't believe telling kids the truth about certain things makes them mean later in life. There are age appropriate answers to most questions and I think the one posted above is age appropriate.

I also think there is a vast gap between answering a six year old's question honestly and a life of drugs and prostitution.

I also don't believe answering a six year old's question with the answer posted above will remove the magic and fun from their lives. No one is suggesting that the witness a sex change operation.

As an ex kindergarten teacher, I found that answering a child's question is a simple, vague, age appropriate way usually satisfied them completely. I found being evasive and uncomfortable made them question things further.

I was asked by a five year old where babies came from. I responded with "most come from the hospital" and found that that satisfied his curiousity. I found no need to get out the slides and diagrams.

I totally agree Kevin. The important part is that the answer is age appropriate. As a trainee teacher (currently with 6-7 year olds), I have already had my fair share of awkward questions. I just try and answer as truthfully but vaguely as I can. This means that when they have the REALLY important questions, they know I won't just get embarrassed and play it down. They know they can come to me if they are unsure and I won't make them feel bad for asking perfectly natural questions.

There is something very different between having a sensible discussion with your children about life, and making them witness something that makes them grow up too soon. I still let my class know that I leave my stocking up for Santa and that the tooth fairy has certainly re-done her pricing structure of late!

 

[SwirlyGirly]

A sex change is when a grown up man wants to become a woman, or vice versa. What's wrong with telling the kids the truth?

This mum of 2 100% agrees.

 

[kathleendsm]

My 7 year old daughter knows both the scientific specifics of how babies are made and born (at a fairly high level, but she knows what body parts are involved and where the babies come out of), and also believes that the princesses are real. If she asked about a sex change, I'd tell her the answer that the previous poster put above. She knows that some women love men and some women love women and some men love men and that whoever she loves is fine with us. She also believes in Santa and the Tooth Fairy.

Why can't it be both? She's smart and knows a lot of facts, we don't believe in keeping things from her once she asks specific questions, but we also let her believe in the fantasy and magic.

Although she did ask me the last time we were in WDW whether, since she knows Mickey is in more than one place at a time, there is one that is real and the others are robots. I tried to keep a straight face when saying "That sounds like a good thought! Maybe that's how they do it!"

Oh, and I love the podcast just the way it is.

 

[jcb]

While I'm not sure there is a whole lot of risk here, I hope the podcast team doesn't engage in self-censorship. I still smile when I think about the discussions that started with someone mentioning:

 

[sayhello]

Although she did ask me the last time we were in WDW whether, since she knows Mickey is in more than one place at a time, there is one that is real and the others are robots. I tried to keep a straight face when saying "That sounds like a good thought! Maybe that's how they do it!"

Oh, and I love the podcast just the way it is.

I love that! What a great story!

While I'm not sure there is a whole lot of risk here, I hope t want the podcast team doesn't engage in self-censorship. I still smile when I think about the discussions that started with someone mentioning:

An old car?

Sayhello

 

[KimStaR]

While I'm not sure there is a whole lot of risk here, I hope t want the podcast team doesn't engage in self-censorship. I still smile when I think about the discussions that started with someone mentioning:

DYING OF LAUGHTER!

 

[jcb]

An old car?

Sayhello

It relates to a comment Teresa made on a podcast in October 2009.

 

[Justin Jett]

An old car?

Sayhello

The Beach Boys sing about having one of them.

 

[Dustin]

I don't have kids... so I'll just bump this thread for useful information in the future.

 

[DisneyKevin]

An old car?

Sayhello

It relates to a comment Teresa made on a podcast in October 2009.

The Beach Boys sing about having one of them.

Think of a famous woodpecker.

Or the bartender on Cheers.

Or a cowboy from Toy Story.

 

[DisneyKevin]

woody

 

[Justin Jett]

Think of a famous woodpecker.

Or the bartender on Cheers.

Or a cowboy from Toy Story.

 

[wendydarling826]

Well said Nikki!

 

[WebmasterMike]

the code name for version 3.0 of Debian Linux

 

[WebmasterMike]

...not to be confused with Wu Di, the famous Chinese cinematographer.

 

[newmouse2008]

Good lord........i do love that little car!!!!!!