At a certain point in childhood, children start to gain some understanding of the way that babies grow inside a mother's tummy. This curiosity can be triggered by pregnancies that they see in their own family, pregnancies in the childcare centre or simply a growing understanding. Here are some ways to discuss pregnancy and childbirth with the children in your childcare centre in an educational and age appropriate way.
All animals have babies
Pregnancy can be a great chance to chat about the different names for babies of different species, which can be a great way to introduce some new vocabulary. Babies can be one of those tricky parts of the English language as the baby animal names often don't relate much to the names of the adult animals.
At the same time, you can also cover the way some animals such as snakes and birds lay eggs rather than having live young. This is a fun way to introduce some basic ideas about biology in an age-appropriate way.
Animals need help when they are born
It's also useful to show that some animals need a bit more help when they are born. Some animals become independent as soon as they are born and other animals such humans need some help. It can be fun to watch some clips of the wonky walking of horses and giraffes and compare that to the longer process of the babies in the baby room learning to walk and crawl! You can do some role-playing with baby dolls and let the children play some of the tasks that parents need to do to look after them, including changing nappies and feeding the baby's milk.
Everyone was a baby once
It can also be fun to get everyone to bring in their baby photos, including the carers. Kids are often amused by this idea and it's a great way to introduce the idea of normal growth and development into the program.
Childbirth can be controversial
You might not want to go into detail about childbirth or conception as these subjects are best covered by parents! You can let parents know that you will be covering the topic of pregnancies and babies with the toddlers and kindy kids so that they can be prepared to answer any additional questions that come up at home.
Discussing pregnancy at your childcare centre can be a good way to ensure that your learning program matches the children's natural curiosity and sense of wonder.
Share25 March 2016
My children are so smart that I struggle to deal with their questions. Having gifted and talented children brings a whole new range of challenges to parenting so I am starting a blog to connect to other parents with gifted and talented children. I want to talk about how we can stimulate their thirst for learning in and out of the school environment, as well as talking about the particular challenges for Australian parents of gifted and talented children navigating the school system. We can all learn from each other and help to make sure the education system works for our children too.
