Your Toddler Asks: Where Do Babies Come From? What Do You Say?

Your toddler asks, “Where do babies come from?” what do you say? Check out our parenting tips for answering this question in an age-appropriate manner!

When your toddler asks, “Where do babies come from?” what do you say?  Kids never cease to amaze me with their questions!  Luckily I had 2 c-sections so my answer to this question is easy (albeit probably gory).  We had one of our mommy readers write us with this very question.  Her toddler thinks babies come from her belly, and she is not entirely wrong!  She also thinks they come out her belly button (Kid seems smart!)  Her concern is this:

On principle I want to correct her, but clearly this opens a new can of worms and nobody needs a two-year-old shouting “baby came out mummy’s vagina!!!” every time she sees her brother.”

Well of course not!  Kids say enough embarrassing things in public. We don’t need to add fuel to the fire!  So what do you do when your toddlers ask “where do babies come from?”

Related: How To Deal With Your Biggest Parenting Challenges

What do you say when your toddler asks “where do babies come from?”

Go with the flow: A toddler doesn’t need to know the ins and outs of where she came from, heck she is probably just learning where she pees from, don’t go confusing her!  If your child thinks her baby brother is going to be born from your belly button, why not go with it?

Make up a story: What is wrong with a good ole fantasy about where babies come from?  Many parents these days want to be honest with their kids, which, well yes, no one likes a liar but let’s be real here.  Are you going to have a sex talk with your toddler?  No.  Make an up a cute story, your little one is not going to be in the delivery room, so it is not like she will actually see this happening.  You could say something like ‘When mommy goes to the hospital, it means the baby is ready to be born.’  No doubt about it, there is going to be follow up questions. Fortunately, toddlers are easily swayed to other topics! Your child could have a billion and one questions as to why the sky is blue, don’t let the ‘where do babies come from’ question trip you up.

Ask what she thinks: Kids are smarter (and more creative!) than we give them credit for.  If your child asks you where she came from, or where her baby brother is going to be coming from, ask what she thinks!  And then go with that.  What is the harm really?   

Tell a modified version of the truth: You could tell the truth, but in a modified way. Talk about how babies grow from eggs that mommies carry inside. Or go with a story about how they’re created out of love between moms and dads. It’s up to you how much you want to tell, but it’s possible to be honest about it without giving “the talk” to your two-year-old.

In my very professional opinion (hope you picked up on my sarcasm here) you don’t  actually have to ‘tell’ your younger kids where they came from.  There is no certain age where you sit down with your child and explain the ins and outs of how they got here (before the obvious age of course that being puberty).  If you want to be technical, there are some things in life your child just will not be able to process based on her developmental age.  She just won’t be able to comprehend that her baby brother came out of where you pee from.  What she does know is that mommy has a baby in her belly.  She went to the hospital (or to the birthing room or where ever else you choose to deliver your baby) and now the baby is here.  I would go with that angle.   Of course, what you decide to do is totally up to you. There really is no right or wrong answer here! 

How have you handled this question before?  Please share with us your answers in the comment section below!

 

18 thoughts on “Your Toddler Asks: Where Do Babies Come From? What Do You Say?”

  1. Great tips. I like the one about asking what she/he thinks. You are right, kids are smarter than we sometimes give them credit for. Plus, that gives you an idea of her/his maturity level and understanding of things up to that point.

  2. When my daughter asked me this, I quickly jumped into the internet and found a modified kid friendly version of the explanation.

  3. My toddler (now 4) have had this talk. She asked me how the babies come out of our belly and I told her via your vagina. She made a funny face and said OH! She hasn’t asked me again, I don’t know if she thought I was joking or not as it seemed quite ridiculous to her. hahahaha

    I believe in telling my kids the truth.

  4. Educating your children about this topic can be tough at times but justbe truthful. You are right, you don’t reallyhave to exlains the ins and out of making a baby, just the basic concept is enough.

  5. We always tell our toddler that mommy and daddy loved each other so much that the love spilled over and made a new person. I dread the day the more specific questions start arising!

  6. I don’t think my kids actually asked where babies came from or at least they weren’t really interested in the answer by the time I came up with one! I think we went with the “when a mommy and daddy love each other, they get to have a baby” and that was good enough!

  7. When my kids asked I just let them know the baby comes from me and my tummy. They never usually ask HOW did the baby get there until they were about 4 or 5 years old. By then they had a jest of how the world works so they pretty much understood my rough explanation of how the baby is MADE.

  8. So my kid if 7 and he’s all asking why the dog has to get fixed… then the baby question came up. I told him the whackest story ever. I told him that…omg, I told him that dads have a magic sauce that makes babies grow in bellies…. a magic sauce??? Really? I’m an idiot. I changed the subject.

  9. This is definitely a tough one for some parents. With my 1st child, I could make up a story and he’d eat it up! (Little angels come down from heaven and kiss mommies belly..) But after the announcement of our 2nd, we had to get serious and tell him the truth. Well–partial truth! (Maria S. commenting for Kelli Miller)

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