"Mamma, what is this?" asked my little one holding a small prototype of the eagle with wings spread out. I had brought it as a dangler for the car.
"You know what it is, don't you? Why don't you tell me what it is?"
"An Eagle?" he asked raising an eyebrow, only like he could. He looks so cute when he does that!
"Hmm..." I nodded.
"Why is this eagle black while this one", he said fishing out another from behind his back, " is colourful?"
"Because it isn't an eagle, it's a macaw." I said.
"But caw caw is also black no?" he said the "caw-caw" referring to the crow.
I sat him down, smiling at the innocence, "A macaw is a type of huge parrot which has big colourful wings."
He looked at the eagle for some time and then came the next question, "Why is the eagle's mouth open?"
"He must be hungry".
He seemed to be thinking again.
"Is it a girl or a boy?"
"What?"
"The eagle."
Oh dear, I thought, I have no idea how to distinguish between a male and female eagle. I looked at it from all sides, with no inkling of what it could be, "Could be anything, I don't think I know."
"Where's the baby eagle?" came the next question.
If I said it was in the shop, and I didn't buy it, he would ask me why I didn't buy it. If I told him there was no baby eagle, he will tell me there would have been and I didn't search properly. While I wondered what I should say, the elder one chipped in, "See, if this is mamma eagle, then it needs pappa eagle to have a baby, and if it is pappa, then it needs mamma to have a baby. Since there is only one eagle, there is no baby."
Before I could say Bravo for a well thought out answer, I stopped mid track, taken aback at what he said. Did he really know THAT? I mean, he is just 9 yrs old, I don't remember ever discussing anything remotely related to the birds and bees with him. How could he know? Well, since the topic had been broached, I decided I might as well use this opportunity to talk to him.
As I still cleared my throat wondering how to begin, it was the younger one again, "Why?"
Dear god bless my soul.
"Because," said the elder one without blinking his eyelids, "Our pappa goes to work and gets us whatever we need, so the baby eagle will also need it's pappa to be around and bring it food while the mamma eagle looks after it."
The younger one was visibly satisfied with the answer.
And as for me, I felt rather silly!! Kids don't need a lot of explanation, and there is no need to get paranoid about answering their innocent questions. It's all about giving them as much information as their age merits with a straight face and with a smile!
"You know what it is, don't you? Why don't you tell me what it is?"
"An Eagle?" he asked raising an eyebrow, only like he could. He looks so cute when he does that!
"Hmm..." I nodded.
"Why is this eagle black while this one", he said fishing out another from behind his back, " is colourful?"
"Because it isn't an eagle, it's a macaw." I said.
"But caw caw is also black no?" he said the "caw-caw" referring to the crow.
I sat him down, smiling at the innocence, "A macaw is a type of huge parrot which has big colourful wings."
He looked at the eagle for some time and then came the next question, "Why is the eagle's mouth open?"
"He must be hungry".
He seemed to be thinking again.
"Is it a girl or a boy?"
"What?"
"The eagle."
Oh dear, I thought, I have no idea how to distinguish between a male and female eagle. I looked at it from all sides, with no inkling of what it could be, "Could be anything, I don't think I know."
"Where's the baby eagle?" came the next question.
If I said it was in the shop, and I didn't buy it, he would ask me why I didn't buy it. If I told him there was no baby eagle, he will tell me there would have been and I didn't search properly. While I wondered what I should say, the elder one chipped in, "See, if this is mamma eagle, then it needs pappa eagle to have a baby, and if it is pappa, then it needs mamma to have a baby. Since there is only one eagle, there is no baby."
Before I could say Bravo for a well thought out answer, I stopped mid track, taken aback at what he said. Did he really know THAT? I mean, he is just 9 yrs old, I don't remember ever discussing anything remotely related to the birds and bees with him. How could he know? Well, since the topic had been broached, I decided I might as well use this opportunity to talk to him.
As I still cleared my throat wondering how to begin, it was the younger one again, "Why?"
Dear god bless my soul.
"Because," said the elder one without blinking his eyelids, "Our pappa goes to work and gets us whatever we need, so the baby eagle will also need it's pappa to be around and bring it food while the mamma eagle looks after it."
The younger one was visibly satisfied with the answer.
And as for me, I felt rather silly!! Kids don't need a lot of explanation, and there is no need to get paranoid about answering their innocent questions. It's all about giving them as much information as their age merits with a straight face and with a smile!
