A book after evesdropping on your kids

Posted by Jenny

Picture this. It’s a rainy St Stephen’s morning, my three kids are sitting at the table. The boy is focussed on building his lego which turned out to be a task requiring team effort. The girl is playing with her new Barbie set which includes a chair, a vanity set and a wardrobe complete with party dresses and shoes I would like to get my hands on in my own size. The youngest is being pulled between playing with her own newly acquired age appropriate (ie in her mind boring) toys and attempting to commandeer her sister’s waaaayyyy more interesting ones.

It’s a rare image of peace and it’s usually fragile and short lived. Anyway, I grabbed the opportunity to drag a broom through the downstairs living area. And then it happened! One of those wondrous moments when your kids think that you’re not listening and are having a conversation you wished you could tape and play over and over again.

My son: “You should pretend that she’s pregnant.”

My daughter: “Oh, the baby in my belly is so sore. When is the doctor coming?”
My son, reassuringly: “He’ll be there soon.”
My daughter, probably vividly imagining what it’s like to be pregnant, started to make sounds as if she’s suffering a great deal. Then she points out to my son, while I was industriously sweeping the floor nearby: “The doctor will have to cut my stomach open to get the baby out.”
My son, with the authority and wisdom of an older brother: “No, you will have to open your mouth really wide and then the baby will come out that way.”

I remember my son's concern regarding the state of my mouth and whether I was sore following the birth of my youngest. Obviously it’s the only hole a baby can come out of. It was an explanation that he’d come up with himself during the last pregnancy. Since he was only four at the time, I didn’t think he needed me to inform him of the details, especially since he never actually asked. I’m all for the truth in an age appropriate, need to know manner and all that lark. However, he has clearly settled on that solution, which leads me to the question, when should I tell him? When do you have a conversation with your kids about the birds, the bees and the births in this case? My poor child, I can just imagine the look of horror on his face.  

And while I ponder this, let me introduce you to “Green Rider” by Kristen Britain. It was first published in 1998, so it’s been around for a bit. I was in the market for a new fantasy book that would pull me in from the first page and I bought it after reading a recommendation from a local bookshop. I wasn’t disappointed. I found it to be a promising first novel in the series. And if you happen to be in the market for a new fantasy read, why not give it a go?