Too Much Information
We all know that kids say the darndest things. My kids definitely say things that stump me from time to time but it's usually in the funniest and sweetest ways.
My 2 older boys (ages 9 and 6) are at an age where they like their independence. They want to be able to go to the park on their own without mommy watching from a distance and they've earned it. They've proven to me that I can trust them to come back home when I tell them to or if I decide to pop up at the location they tell me they'll be at, I'll actually see them there.
I'm also the type of mom who wants to know the kids and the parents to the kids who my children will be playing with. It helps me decipher whether they have the same ideals as we do as a family. Usually if the vibe's not right, I tend to back away from that family. I have no problem telling a parent that the reason I limit my children's time with their child is because their child doesn't follow the rules of my house.
I don't think I'm a super strict mom but I'm strict enough where I WILL NOT stand for explaining myself or dealing with any B.S. from ANY kid who can't pay my bills, cook my food, wash my clothes, clean my house or run me a bathe. If I set rules in place you better believe that I expect you to follow them because kids are expensive on my wallet and my brain so you better do as I say or else...
Does that seem mean? I really don't want my kids to go through life avoiding conflict or negative situation since they can learn life lessons from certain situations. However, if I can avoid unnecessary drama or bad influences, I have no problem doing so to protect my children.
Recently my 6 year old came home and asked "Mommy, what is herpes?" I was SO shocked because I didn't expect it. Then as the question sunk in I started getting pissed off because I'm wondering what child would even know about the word herpes and why was it being discussed around my NINE & SIX yr old. My 9 yr old jumps in to say "This girl at the park said that a boy down the street has herpes." Ummm, WTH?!?! Are you kidding me?
So I ask them how old this girl was and if she was directly talking to them or if they overheard a conversation. They mentioned that she was in the 9th grade and that she was talking to a bunch of kids.
They also asked if herpes was something they could catch and how do you get it. I was SOOO irritated and dumb founded that here my poor lil babies are being exposed to such explicit info.
I'm not sure if my explanation made sense to them but I told them that herpes is a disease and that kids won't get affected by it so they shouldn't worry about it. I also told them to stay away from whomever mentioned that because she's not in their age group so she shouldn't be talking about that with them.
I hate having to explain things to my children that I don't feel they're ready to even learn about. I want to be able to be open and honest with my children and properly inform them of different subjects but not at the cost of them hearing it from an uninformed source who may not have the correct info on the subject.
Gosh, whatever happened to the days when all you needed to worry about was which toy belonged to who and who hit who as a kiddy conflict? Now I have to worry about TMI being shared with my kids about sexually transmitted diseases. I don't understand what's going on with some kids these days. Lord help me...
Anywhoo, Happy Friday everyone!
Have a lovely weekend.
My 2 older boys (ages 9 and 6) are at an age where they like their independence. They want to be able to go to the park on their own without mommy watching from a distance and they've earned it. They've proven to me that I can trust them to come back home when I tell them to or if I decide to pop up at the location they tell me they'll be at, I'll actually see them there.
I'm also the type of mom who wants to know the kids and the parents to the kids who my children will be playing with. It helps me decipher whether they have the same ideals as we do as a family. Usually if the vibe's not right, I tend to back away from that family. I have no problem telling a parent that the reason I limit my children's time with their child is because their child doesn't follow the rules of my house.
I don't think I'm a super strict mom but I'm strict enough where I WILL NOT stand for explaining myself or dealing with any B.S. from ANY kid who can't pay my bills, cook my food, wash my clothes, clean my house or run me a bathe. If I set rules in place you better believe that I expect you to follow them because kids are expensive on my wallet and my brain so you better do as I say or else...
Does that seem mean? I really don't want my kids to go through life avoiding conflict or negative situation since they can learn life lessons from certain situations. However, if I can avoid unnecessary drama or bad influences, I have no problem doing so to protect my children.
Recently my 6 year old came home and asked "Mommy, what is herpes?" I was SO shocked because I didn't expect it. Then as the question sunk in I started getting pissed off because I'm wondering what child would even know about the word herpes and why was it being discussed around my NINE & SIX yr old. My 9 yr old jumps in to say "This girl at the park said that a boy down the street has herpes." Ummm, WTH?!?! Are you kidding me?
So I ask them how old this girl was and if she was directly talking to them or if they overheard a conversation. They mentioned that she was in the 9th grade and that she was talking to a bunch of kids.
They also asked if herpes was something they could catch and how do you get it. I was SOOO irritated and dumb founded that here my poor lil babies are being exposed to such explicit info.
I'm not sure if my explanation made sense to them but I told them that herpes is a disease and that kids won't get affected by it so they shouldn't worry about it. I also told them to stay away from whomever mentioned that because she's not in their age group so she shouldn't be talking about that with them.
I hate having to explain things to my children that I don't feel they're ready to even learn about. I want to be able to be open and honest with my children and properly inform them of different subjects but not at the cost of them hearing it from an uninformed source who may not have the correct info on the subject.
Gosh, whatever happened to the days when all you needed to worry about was which toy belonged to who and who hit who as a kiddy conflict? Now I have to worry about TMI being shared with my kids about sexually transmitted diseases. I don't understand what's going on with some kids these days. Lord help me...
Anywhoo, Happy Friday everyone!
Have a lovely weekend.
Oh my.....herpes?!?! NO WAY would I expect to have to answer a question like that to a 9 & 6yr old!
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way that you do! I don't let my kids around kids that I do not know, and who's parents I do not know. For the SAME exact reasons as you!
My 7yr old daughter was playing outside and a 9yr old come down to the cul-de-sac, and I thought she was a nice girl, only to find out that my 7yr old was afraid to go to sleep because the 9yr old told her about "Bloody Mary"...well, after I had to explain that Bloody Mary isn't real to her, my daughter then went to school and told a girl in her class about it, then the teacher had a 1 on 1 with me. I was getting in trouble for something that my 7yr old heard and repeated to another classmate. I was beyond mad!!!! So it was MY fault (at least the teacher made me feel that way), that my daughter heard that from an older girl. I was beyond.....MAD!
Needless to say, my 7yr old isn't allowed to play with that girl anymore.
YIKES!!! I don't know what I would do if my 6 yr old asked me that.
ReplyDeleteI too like to know who my children are spending time with and have already had the talk with my 6 yr old about another child I am not too comfortable about...it was so much easier when they were little =)
Ughh.... that is brutal. It is scary because they hear soooo much...and we can only be in so many places, much less protect them from everything. The great news is that they came home and asked you about it! That bodes well for future "questions!"
ReplyDeletexo
Thanks for the comments Ladies. It really is scary that kids are soooo exposed to this sort of info and it's irritating to not have control over it.
ReplyDeleteG.Moon- Wow, that's really horrible what happened to your daughter. Sorry you had to go through that.
Now I feel like wrapping my kids up and keeping them from the big bad world. :/ I know, it's a little dramatic and they have to learn how to deal but it's still hard for us mom to deal with.