At What Age Do You Stop Covering DC's Eyes When Animals Mate on TV?

[Anonymous]

Was watching a show about cougars on NatGeo Wild last night with my boys and the mating scene came on with narrative. It lasted about a minute or so. I used to change channels or cover their eyes but I didn't last night. They are 8 & 10 and thought that was gross.

[Anonymous]

I've never covered my 6 year old DD's eyes. It's nature. It happens. I don't see why you have to make it taboo. It's not porn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've never covered my 6 year old DD's eyes. It's nature. It happens. I don't see why you have to make it taboo. It's not porn.

I never did either.

[Anonymous]

They are animals. Mating. Why are you covering their eyes?

[Anonymous]

WTF? cover their eyes, are you for real? It's not porn.

This is a great opportunity to talk about reproduction. No need for all the details but really, I would never cover my child's eyes. If I'm ever that concerned, I would not let them watch it in the first place.

[Anonymous]

I never covered his eyes, and we started watching those documentaries when he was 2 or so. He asked what they were doing, we talked about mating, the eggs and sperm and pregnancy and all the rest. When at 3 or 4 he asked how babies are made I was able to say "people mate, too." Lightbulb. Made the sex discussion pretty unsquirmy for all of us.

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

Unclench OP

[Anonymous]

Just say that they're "wrestling."

What I can't stand are the non-stop Viagra and Cialis commercials at all times of day. My 5 year old asked me what erectile dysfunction is.

[Anonymous]

My parents were once at Mass in a church where the doors were open in warm weather. Two dogs wandered in and one started mounting the other toward the front of the church. Talk about uncomfortable....

[Anonymous]

I have a 4.5 yr old who saw apes/monkeys/orange things mating in a very festive, fun way at the nat zoo a few months ago. I just ddin't mention it and he assumed they were playing.

Once he asks, I will tell him the truth: They are making babies.

[Anonymous]

Age 0, I guess, because I never did that.

Once my kid was old enough and verbal enough to ask what the animals were doing, I just said they were making a baby together (giving more details depending on interest and age).

I've always been pretty open about the facts of life, and I don't really see anything inappropriate about seeing animals engaging in that act. To me it's not at all equivalent to watching human intimacy such as explicit scenes in films that I would likely restrict until the kids were older, and it's certainly not equivalent to p*rnography.

[Anonymous]

Never did.

[Anonymous]

What a silly thing to worry about. I have never covered my child's eyes, but I honestly can't recall him ever seeing animals mating. Maybe it was just such a non-issue that I didn't notice and he didn't ask.

I always wonder if parents who are so worried about things like animals mating and any kind of sexual thing, also forbid violent stuff in the house. I've always had more problems with my child being introduced to guns than nature. That's just me.

[Anonymous]

You and me baby, ain't nothing but mammals, so let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel