Loading…
19
I tried to explain open adoption to my 7-year-old nephew and he thought I was talking about a new kind of zoo.
He asked if the baby giraffes got to visit their first mom, and honestly, that simple mix-up made me realize how much clearer I need to be with my own language when talking about this with family.
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
kim.stella5mo ago
Just use "tummy mommy" for birth moms, it clicks for little kids.
7
the_barbara3mo ago
My sister tried the "tummy mommy" thing with her kids and I honestly thought it was a little weird at first. But after reading what @kim.stella and sandra_black said, I changed my mind completely. Kids need something they can touch and understand, like a belly or a zoo, not our grown-up adoption words. I saw my niece light up when she heard "tummy mommy" and it clicked for her right away. It made me realize I was making things way harder than they needed to be for no good reason. Simple is better when you're talking to little ones, hands down.
2
sandra_black5mo ago
That zoo mix-up is so sweet and actually kind of smart... it shows how kids hear our adult words. I see this all the time, like @kim.stella said with "tummy mommy," where the simple, concrete words just work better. We get so used to our own complicated terms for things that we forget to translate. It makes me want to go back and explain a bunch of stuff I've probably overcomplicated.
1