THE DOCTOR'S PART
In my private sitting-room, where William and I have had many conferences, there hangs my medical-class picture with classmates and faculty. A member of my family was one day answering the boy's queries as to who this one or that one was, etc. Finally, on pointing to one particular face, the answer came to his inquiry, "That's Dr. P. You wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him." That evening the little fellow, just past three years, came to me and asked, "Mamma, didn't you say I came from you?"
"Yes, dear," I replied.
"Well, Auntie says I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Dr. P. What did the doctor have to do with it?"
"Why, simply this, dear. The door to the little room in which you grew in mamma's body wouldn't open, and so kind Dr. P. came and helped open the door."
"And let me out?" exclaimed the eager child. "Oh, I want to go and see Dr. P. and thank him for helping me out!"
And this little fellow was neither shocked or surprised, any more than he was over finding out that orange babies came from orange mammas.
In the same frank manner in which the simpler questions are answered, strive to answer these important ones. If we seek to evade, to postpone, to wrap in mystery these sex questions, the little ones will not forget but will ponder and worry over them, and seek to obtain certain knowledge from others who oftentimes tell too much or too little, and such information is usually mixed with much unnecessary matter which may or may not be foreign to this particular subject. On the other hand, if we frankly and honestly answer the question at hand, curiosity is avoided and the child feels he understands it all. The subject drops into the background of his mind—into the marginal consciousness—with the countless other facts he has accumulated. A sense of "knowledge possession" is as comfortable to the child as it is to the adult.
TRUSTING YOUR CHILD
Often the question arises: "Will they tell to other children this newly found knowledge?" If the wise mother makes them feel they are a part of a "family," and reminds them that such matters as the secrets about Santa Claus, the stork, and the baby nest are only discussed in "family groups," they are often seized with the normal pride which accompanies confidence, and often keep secrets as well or even better than do most adults.