Parents' Dictionary

There have been so many things that I wish I would have known before becoming a parent. But, I guess that would have taken away some of the fun of learning as I go and letting my girls watch me stammer and sweat my way through certain situations.

One thing I’ve learned through the years is that I need to have several definitions for certain words at my disposal. Who would have known I’d be in front of my daughter’s class trying to explain that “sex” isn’t a bad word? No amount of parenting prep had readied me for that situation. Or that I’d be in a pool with my girls at my in-laws home when my older asks, “what is birth control?”

I believe in telling the kids the truth (as appropriate for their age) and so I am happy to report that I’ve been able to talk my way out of both situations (sex means whether a person is male or female and birth control means decisions mom and dads have to make regarding the number of kids that makes their family complete). But, I want to warn all parents out there with little ones. One day, those sweet little things will talk. And they will ask you things you never imagined, so start preparing now for how to answer “those” questions.