Pets can help kids understand the world, including the birds and the bees! There has been much excitement in the Barker house this Autumn as we watch for “blue bottoms”!
At the end of August, we put a tup (daddy sheep) in with our ewes (mummy sheep). “Dennis” was collected, harnessed up with his crayon and put in with the girls.
Within an hour, Wendy had a blue bottom. Henry’s questions (aged 5) started and they haven’t stopped since…
“Why does Wendy have a blue bottom?”
“Mummy, Mummy, Dennis has got Wilma!”
“Why is Dennis making the girls’ bottom’s blue?”
“Has Dennis married Wendy?”
“Dennis has a lot of wives, is he allowed so many wives?”
Then the day we came home and Dennis was just getting busy. Both Henry and Eliza starred out the window
“What is Dennis doing?”
The innocence of kids is brilliant, funny at times and so endearing; it would be nice to preserve this innocence for as long as possible! We, however, are from a farming family and this is life. We breed sheep and horses so we’ve done our best to answer the questions. We haven’t really known what to say, but have tried to be honest, whilst not being graphic or too descriptive! We haven’t had a phone call from school so I think we’ve done ok…..I have been slightly dreading that as Henry is prone to be very chatty at school about what is going on at home and elsewhere!
We have explained that Dennis is a daddy sheep, the girls are mummy sheep and that hopefully they are all going to have lambs.
The exact details have been skirted over (but further clarification has not been sought)…..next year no doubt.
For Charlie and me, the 12 week scan was a time of apprehension and excitement. Would the baby be ok? How many? (I had dreamt the night before I was having triplets!)
Scan time for the “girls” is now approaching….questions linger but this time….are they in lamb and again, how many….twins are the ideal. Keep your fingers crossed for us.
