Conversations with Children

One of the most delightful things about having children at the age mine currently are (4, 4 and 6) is the conversations you can have. Conversations with children at this age are fascinating, insightful and often so innocent and cute. It is amazing what you find out when you stop and properly make time to converse with your children.

Girls talking

I have recently been making a point of having more conversations. I deliberately ask my children about what they are looking forward to in their day ahead of them on the way to school (this has helped calm down many a school run). Through this I often discover their likes and dislikes at school, who’s friends with who as well as things they always forget to tell me, like tests or special events!

I am currently preparing for their birthday party in March, so we have been having lots of conversations this week about what sort of party and cake they would like and who to invite.

Whilst discussing this with BB, he told me he has to invite V as she is his girlfriend! Yes, age 6 he says he has a girlfriend and he wants to marry her and apparently she wants to marry him!! He then added “she is desperate” “I am desperate to marry her”!!! Oh my goodness! I really didn’t know what to say. I realise he has absolutely no concept of this at this stage, so whilst laughing inside and just smiling on the outside we had a little conversation about marriage and I left it at that. What do you say??

Following this, marriage and babies have obviously been on BB’s mind as he has been asking questions like “how old were you when you got married?” and “how old were you when you had me”? These were ok and we discussed things, then he moved onto the question of “why can’t boys have babies?” Oh boy, another tricky question….I just said that boys are made differently to girls and boys don’t have room for babies. He didn’t question any further, but I think we may have to visit these type of questions again in the not so distant future.

This also reminded me of a conversation we had quite a while ago about how children are made. BB asked me if I gathered all his bones and bits and stuck him together? Er, no, I had to explain that babies grow, but unfortunately we never did get to finish that conversation as we arrived at school. I am not looking forward to the day he asks this again 😉

It is so cute, the things children come out with, fascinating hearing the way they think, so literal sometimes, their logic often upside down. I am enjoying the little conversations we are having at bedtime during our quiet time routine. BB has been telling me all about the Titanic this week, he just loves facts. I am learning so much from him, both factual and insightful into his world.

It is so important to make time like this to connect and really listen to what children have to say, it is amazing what you might find out! I am loving it!

8 thoughts on “Conversations with Children”

  1. Amazing questions that is really hard to answer but you handled it quite well.

    My son is 4 and our conversations is still limited to traffic signs. Until he asked me about cctv and killing. I think one of his classmates told him about CCTV and how it can get situations like killing.

    I just told him that if you do good things and bad the CCTV will get it so you better be good always.

    I am so not looking for harder questions!

  2. Such lovely conversations 🙂 I haven’t had any questions I’m not sure how to answer from Fran yet but when the elder ones ask, especially ‘biology’ based ones I answer like you, honestly but in the most basic form.

    We can go overboard with the details and overwhelm them and they then share it with all their friends on the playground! x

  3. Ah, I love chatting with my two, too. I’ve been surprised by the information I can get out of Little man this week, and then Boo’s like an ever-flowing fountain of chatter!

    She, too, has chosen her husband and they each know they’re marrying each other, apparently.

    Young love!

  4. Lovely to read about the art of conversation blooming with you and yours. my son is now grown but we still enjoy chatting about many things, something always encouraged as he grew.

    Thankfully the tough questions have stopped (he knows where babies come from!)

  5. I had to smile at the “Desperate to Marry” Conversation bless

    ,I often enjoy interesting chats with My Little Man who is also 4.

    He makes me smile with some of the things he comes out with, Priceless 🙂 x

  6. Love the “desperation” haha!

    This mornings car journey to school with Miss 6 took a turn to a Holocaust conversation…

  7. BB saying that he is “desperate to marry” his “girlfriend” made me chuckle. I love the things that children come out with.

    Jessica has become really chatty at the moment and I love having conversations with her.

    Sounds like arriving at school came at just the right moment for your conversation about how babies grow – hopefully you’ll have a while before you get asked that question again! 🙂

  8. I overheard my 8 year old telling her brother (4) how he was made-she got it pretty spot on actually so somewhere along the line I must have explained it to her and she understood the whole concept.

    I was quite chuffed! Although my son still thinks that we are built like Lego pieces put together, despite this 🙂

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