“Look, Ma. I have cleavage.” This is what RJ said when she wore her black swimsuit. A what?! She will just turn ten this July…where the hell she learned what cleavage is? It is just fats. Obviously, our girl who used to climb chairs and sturdy step stool to reach something knows a lot more than what we think she knows.
Every day, when RJ gets home from school, she talks about what she learned on a particular day. So one time when they had their lessons about animal reproduction and fertilization (union of egg cell and sperm cell), she asked me, “The egg cell is inside the female animal while the sperm cell is inside the male animal. So how will they see each other and meet?” I froze and didn’t know what to say. Kids! Why are they so curious of things and pester us with why? Why? Why?
Kids are naturally born curious so don’t expect them to stop asking questions. When something is new to them, they must investigate immediately. They want to know the world and everything in it and how they work. However, each child express curiosity in different ways so it is important to recognize individual differences in your children’s styles of curiosity. Some want to explore with only their minds, others in more physical ways…touching, smelling, tasting, and climbing, and sometimes their style of exploration can be dangerous. As parents, we have the wonderful job of rescuing our children from their own curiosity when it takes a dodgy turn by answering the multitude of questions.
By being curious our children will be able to see new worlds and possibilities which are normally not visible and these give excitement to their life. So the next time your children ask you, don’t fret. But instead, nurture their curiosity and give them your honest answers.
