subject: How Do You Avoid Explaining The Birds And Bees To Your Children? [print this page] Explaining the birds and the bees to children is a difficult task and one that all parents are faced with at some point in time. Most are caught unawares and even if you are prepared, the question will inevitably catch you off guard.
Children are curious, so anything out of the ordinary will always require an explanation, and when animals procreate before your very eyes, you will most certainly be asked "Mummy, Daddy, what are they doing?"
One parents response to this question, which was overheard at the zoo while two promiscuous giant turtles paired off, has now become the inspiration for a new childrens picture book entitled The Zoos Annual Piggyback Race.
"After hearing the fathers response to the little girls query" says author Matt Harrigan, "I just could not get the thought out of my head and I began to wonder what if a piggyback race at the zoo actually took place."
Although the book has nothing to do with providing an explanation about the birds and the bees, Matt Harrigans debut picture book is based on the premise that "the animals do compete in a piggyback race". So if anyone is searching for a great answer to that inevitable question, there is now a book that can be used to back up your claims.
"After explaining how I arrived at the idea, most people do ask oh, is it a sex education book? But the answer is no, definitely not" reinforces Matt. "It is just a fun and entertaining book about what would happen if the animals actually did compete in a piggyback race".
The Zoos Annual Piggyback Race is a fun story about an exciting race in which all of the animals take part! However amongst the excitement, misfortune strikes, putting all but one pair of animals out of the race.
"The gun went off, the race had begun, but catastrophe struck them, one by one." Find out who will fall and who gives chase, to win the Zoos Annual Piggyback Race!
Children will love the rhyming prose of this book along with the whimsical illustrations, masterfully completed by Melinda Beavers. It is perfect for reading aloud and will be very appealing to children of 2-5 years of age. With 20 different species featured throughout, the book is also great to help children learn about the many different types of animals in the world.
Finally, when questioned about what advice he would give to parents when asked about explaining the birds and the bees, Matt Harrigan is slightly more vague.
"It really depends on the age of the child", says Matt smiling, "and I will leave that for the parents to decide".
Ever been in this situation? How would you explain it to your child?
