Baby Clues
Information & advice on dealing with babies

Any parent knows that there will come a point when your child asks questions about topics such as periods or where baby’s come from. Answering these questions is easy enough if you are having the discussion with a child just starting puberty but when they are asked by a younger child they are not so easy. So how do you answer them?

Well when my 2 year old wandered into the bathroom whilst I was putting a sanitary towel in my underwear and asked what I was doing I told her that I had to put a special pad in my underwear. To which her response was: “why?” So I told her that it was something ladies had to do sometimes. I thought that I had got off lightly until my daughter decided to look in the toilet whilst I was pulling up my trousers and got very upset to see blood in the toilet. So I explained that it was ok and nothing to worry about, and that it was what happened to ladies when they hadn’t got a baby in their tummy. She asked if that was what the pad was for so I said yes. She accepted this answer then went off to play with her toys.

I know that some people will disagree with me for giving my daughter this much information given the fact that she is two but I believe that the best way is to be honest with your child. Obviously the amount of information you give them is up to you but I simply gave my daughter enough information to answer her question in a simple format that she could understand.

I personally find it easier to be honest with my daughter because if you lie you have to remember what you told them as they remember. Also if take the other approach and try and hide it one of two things will usually happen either their curiosity will mean that they will try to find out what you are hiding, or if they have a problem or something like managing periods when they are older, they may try to hide it themselves, be embarassed and not know how to handle it.

Due to alot of the media hype about child abuse some parents are too frightened to discuss issues such as periods, in case the child repeats what they have been told and the parents get accused of sexually abusing the child. Pregnancy never really causes too many problems explaining unless the child asks how the baby got into your tummy; to see how I explained pregnancy to my daughter see: Pregnancy and other Children.

As I have already said how much you tell your child is up to you but I would definately say that honesty is the way to go. Just make sure that you explain it in a way that they can understand, also don’t worry about what people will say as if anyone asks you can tell them what happened, chances are you are not the only person in this situation and they are also wondering how to handle the situation, because not many people will openly say; “how do you explain …….to a ….year old?” mainly because they are worried about what people will say or think.

One of the most commonly asked questions amongst parents is is intelligence related to nature or nurture? Research carried out over the last few decades, has convinced psychologists that genes play a large part in determining our intelligence levels. It is estimated that as much as 50% of the variation may inherited. A research team, lead by Robert Plomin at the Institute of Psychiatry in London found that a link existed between a specific gene and high intelligence.

Personally I think that the child’s environment plays a far bigger role in their intelligence than genetics purely because if you are willing to put in the time and the effort with the child then they can become very intelligent without necessarily having the gene that is supposed to be linked to intelligence. You can play with them and offer them opportunities to experience new things to give you some ideas see the articles Toys that could enhance your child’s development,Can you enhance your child’s development?,and finally just to prove that it doesn’t have to be expensive seeentertaining your child on a budget. Well I hope that this helps clarify the situation.

According to a PCP poll 63% of parents want kitchens in state schools so children can be taught how to cook. Andy Powell said: “Parents quite rightly want the best learning environment for their children and that includes facilities that in the past have only been available in the country’s private schools. If designed and managed correctly, with a clear vision and with dedicated staff and sponsors, new-build academies offer an opportunity to give pupils the type of learning they need, using the right facilities.”

In the 2006 Budget, Gordon Brown set out a goal to raise state school spending per pupil from £5,000 a year to the independent sector average of £8,000. The Department for Children, Schools and Families said: “Schools in England have never had such massive, sustained investment in facilities – with an eight-fold real terms rise between 1997 and 2011. Around 4,000 schools and tens of thousands of classrooms have been newly built, rebuilt or largely refurbished thanks to our £36bn capital over the last 12 years. We are committed to rebuilding or refurbishing the entire secondary school estate and half of all primary schools – giving parents, teachers and pupils outstanding classroom, music and sports facilities.”

Personally I think that this is a great idea as children should enjoy cooking and if you introduce cooking from an early age it doesn’t seem quite so intimidating and you are then able to aquire a broader range of skills in the kitchen. It may also help to reduce obesity as children will be taught how to prepare healthy snacks and meals. It may also reduce the number of adults that rely on ready meals as they don’t know how to make simple meals such as bangers and mash.