Answer me, Parent!

17 Sep Answer me, Parent!

Questions from parents.

👉How do I respond to this question that my 3 year old asked?

I respond with an answer.

Another question from a parent.

👉What do I tell when my 4-year-old goes through this?

I respond again.

Well, I’ve been asked several times- how do I know what’s the right thing to say?

In most of these cases it’s not a sex ed issue. It is just a parenting issue. It’s actually more of a communication issue.

✔️What to say?
✔️How to say it?
✔️How to convincingly say it?

Where did i learn how to do it?

✅ I would say practicing gentle parenting is the way to go about it. When I understood more about the child’s brain, I understood how to deal with questions at each stage.
When I understood how much of emotional regulation they know, I learnt to say things without overwhelming them.

✅Of course the reading I did on sex ed helped but the gentle parenting classes with @gotha_hari_priya along with the books kiss me (Carlos Gonzalez) and how to talk so kids will listen(Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish) , gave me the foundation to talk to Maya. Now I just completed the book non violent communication (Marshall B Rosenberg) and that gave me better clarity on how to communicate.

✔️The foundation was definitely the gentle parenting classes.

I also think once you practise gentle & respectful parenting with your child you’ll automatically be open to their questions, you’ll automatically find ways to answer them, even without a knowledge base in sex ed. Coz even before becoming a sex educator, there was open communication at home.

Two things I’ve realized –

✅Gentle Parenting basics is the prelude to sex ed.. It is the bahubali 1 that you need to be done with before going for part 2.

✅I also believe gentle parenting is the vessel in which which sex ed should travel. Get the vessel ready and you’ll know what to fill it with.