How to explain abortion ruling to 7 year old

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tonight at dinner after going to visit Harper’s Ferry my husband and I were talking about the Civil War and I made a quip about hopefully we don’t see another Civil War. I wasn’t thinking about my 7 year old sitting there (note to self: keep mouth shut) but this prompted her to say “but couldn’t you just give the baby to someone else.” To say I was in shock is an understatement first that she knows anything about the SCOTUS decision but also connected it to my quip.

And now I’m at a loss of how to explain this to her. We haven’t had the sex talk yet. She knows broadly that babies come out of women’s bodies and that women have eggs but we haven’t talked about anything beyond that.

I feel like I have to say something as clearly she’s picked up on the conversations right now and I’d rather be the one who tells her what’s going on then her trying to figure this out on her own.

And I know folks are going to immediately say troll, but I promise I’m not. This happened tonight and I desperately need advice on how to move forward.

It's crazy how kids can break it down so easily

It shows a lack of critical thinking, which young children aren't developmentally capable of doing. I would not discuss abortion with my young children. What I am doing is teaching them about respecting and protecting their own bodies, as well as those of others. They have the reproduction nuts and bolts down in an age appropriate manner and these conversations are ongoing. To the pp, you have to continue talking to your child about sex and reproduction, etc, but in an age appropriate manner. It can be quite uncomfortable to do as they get older and their hormones come into play, but they need to learn about it from their parents and not youtube or tiktok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tonight at dinner after going to visit Harper’s Ferry my husband and I were talking about the Civil War and I made a quip about hopefully we don’t see another Civil War. I wasn’t thinking about my 7 year old sitting there (note to self: keep mouth shut) but this prompted her to say “but couldn’t you just give the baby to someone else.” To say I was in shock is an understatement first that she knows anything about the SCOTUS decision but also connected it to my quip.

And now I’m at a loss of how to explain this to her. We haven’t had the sex talk yet. She knows broadly that babies come out of women’s bodies and that women have eggs but we haven’t talked about anything beyond that.

I feel like I have to say something as clearly she’s picked up on the conversations right now and I’d rather be the one who tells her what’s going on then her trying to figure this out on her own.

And I know folks are going to immediately say troll, but I promise I’m not. This happened tonight and I desperately need advice on how to move forward.

It's crazy how kids can break it down so easily

Yes, anti-abortion trolls, we get it.

[Anonymous]

The right wing nuts are the ones who have made abortion “controversial” and made it a bad word. I’ve told my 8 year old in simple terms that sometimes women get pregnant and they aren’t at a place in life when they want to have a baby. Like they are still in school and not ready to be a mom. So abortion is a medical procedure that makes the woman not pregnant any more. No need to make it a big scary topic- you are feeding into the Christian “pro life” world view.

[Anonymous]

I explained all the protesters at the January “right to life” march to my 6 year old that the people wanted to make laws about what doctors can/can’t do and they only wanted to fo this for women. He thought that was very unfair!

[Anonymous]

Ask your daughter what she meant before you start talking to her about abortion, sex and other inappropriate for a 7 year old topics. You might be surprised about what she meant/understands.

Your job as her mom is to carry the heavy things until she is strong enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You’re really stretching to assume you mentioning the civil war somehow connected the dots to the Recent SC decision. Really stretching.

This. The OP has got to be a complete baboon

Calling her a baboon works in this case. But I think you meant to write she is a complete “buffoon.”


“Troll” also works.

[Anonymous]

I would not talk to a 7-year-old about this topic. To address the quip, I would say (if she asks) "sorry dear, that was a sarcastic joke about politics" and not explain further. It's not age appropriate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't. Let her have her childhood.

I’d like to! But clearly she’s heard something and is trying to process it. Point is I’d like to guide that processing if at all possible.

She has no idea what she's saying. This must be a troll post. Any parent would realize that.

The OP is a parent. I’m a parent. Parenting includes things like talking to your kids about uncomfortable but important things in developmentally appropriate ways. Sometimes even though we would rather “let them be kids.” The repeal of Roe has implications for OP’s 7yo daughter, my 12yo and 5yo daughters, and your daughters, if you have any. I’d prefer that my daughters get their moral guidance from me and moral leaders I think are appropriate, so we discuss things like abortion and racism and other things that probably will get called “woke” in a dismissive way.

Any nobody can figure out why each generation has more anxiety than the last.

Are you explaining rape and incest too? Throw in the heat death of the universe, cancer and HIV for good measure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

“but couldn’t you just give the baby to someone else.”

Your child is wise.

She’s young enough to identify more with the fetus than the adult. In her family, she’s the baby. She knows nothing of the burden of responsibility or the risks of pregnancy and childbirth. Hopefully, she doesn’t know about domestic abuse or rape.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think you need to talk all that much about abortion to explain why you’re upset about the ruling. You’re not upset because you need an abortion, you’re upset because the Supreme Court used to say that you had an absolute right to make certain decisions about your medical care, but now the Supreme Court has changed its mind and said that other people get to decide whether you still have that right. Some people will still get to make choices about their medical care, but other people won’t. It’s not fair.

It’s like if Mom and Dad used to say that they and they alone decide your bedtime, but now they’re letting your older siblings choose your bedtime, so your siblings can send you to bed right after dinner if that’s what would make them happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't. Let her have her childhood.

I’d like to! But clearly she’s heard something and is trying to process it. Point is I’d like to guide that processing if at all possible.

She has no idea what she's saying. This must be a troll post. Any parent would realize that.

The OP is a parent. I’m a parent. Parenting includes things like talking to your kids about uncomfortable but important things in developmentally appropriate ways. Sometimes even though we would rather “let them be kids.” The repeal of Roe has implications for OP’s 7yo daughter, my 12yo and 5yo daughters, and your daughters, if you have any. I’d prefer that my daughters get their moral guidance from me and moral leaders I think are appropriate, so we discuss things like abortion and racism and other things that probably will get called “woke” in a dismissive way.

Any nobody can figure out why each generation has more anxiety than the last.

Are you explaining rape and incest too? Throw in the heat death of the universe, cancer and HIV for good measure.

This!! I swear people have lost all common sense. I see it most among super liberal parents. I have a friend who tells her daughter everything about everything, then wonders why the child has anxiety. The child is being given information that she does not yet have the cognitive framework to process, due to her particular stage of brain development and lack of experience in life. I don't understand this need to tell young kids everything just because it will affect them one day. It's like an overreaction to the tendency of conservative parents not to tell their kids anything. If you have a 7 year old you can easily wait 3-5 years to have some of these conversations. Giving them some info on where babies come from doesn't mean you have to get into Roe v. Wade and all the political implications. Let the adults tackle the adult problems and let kids be kids!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Highly nuanced topics aren’t developmentally appropriate for 7.

This! Seven year olds are not short adults. They are too young to understand the topic of abortion and the controversy around it.

+1

Why the need to even have this discussion with a 7 yr old? You don't have go into great detail and exhaust every conversation just because your child says something. And buying a book on amazon for your kid on this topic? Don't do it. Your kid will either show it to someone or bring it up to friend's. Their parents aren't going to be thrilled. I am pro-choice and would be very, very unhappy if when my DD was 7 she came home talking about abortion bc little Larla told her all about it and showed her a book. It's not something she needed to think about or even discuss at age 7. Consider how a 7 yr old is going to describe this and then how it is going to be repeated. I would have no doubt that the playground gossip among the kids would be "Larla's mommy doesn't like babies and she had one but then she made a doctor do 'bortion so she doesn't have it anymore. That's what you do if you don't like babies. " Again, they are 7 yr olds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You don't. Let her have her childhood.

+1 let her be an innocent child! She will have the rest of her life to worry about this crazy world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't. Let her have her childhood.

I’d like to! But clearly she’s heard something and is trying to process it. Point is I’d like to guide that processing if at all possible.

She has no idea what she's saying. This must be a troll post. Any parent would realize that.

The OP is a parent. I’m a parent. Parenting includes things like talking to your kids about uncomfortable but important things in developmentally appropriate ways. Sometimes even though we would rather “let them be kids.” The repeal of Roe has implications for OP’s 7yo daughter, my 12yo and 5yo daughters, and your daughters, if you have any. I’d prefer that my daughters get their moral guidance from me and moral leaders I think are appropriate, so we discuss things like abortion and racism and other things that probably will get called “woke” in a dismissive way.

Any nobody can figure out why each generation has more anxiety than the last.

Are you explaining rape and incest too? Throw in the heat death of the universe, cancer and HIV for good measure.

Am I “explaining rape and incest”? As in: does my child know that there are adults in the world who may try to get access to the private parts of their bodies, that those people may present it as something that will feel good or be good and that the person doing it or trying to do it may seem to like it, that this might even feel physically good to my child in the moment but that it is still bad for them and something they have to tell me or another trusted adult right away, and that it is even possible that someone they know (or someone one of their friends know) could do this? Yes. At 7. Actually before 7.

Why are you not doing this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tonight at dinner after going to visit Harper’s Ferry my husband and I were talking about the Civil War and I made a quip about hopefully we don’t see another Civil War. I wasn’t thinking about my 7 year old sitting there (note to self: keep mouth shut) but this prompted her to say “but couldn’t you just give the baby to someone else.” To say I was in shock is an understatement first that she knows anything about the SCOTUS decision but also connected it to my quip.

And now I’m at a loss of how to explain this to her. We haven’t had the sex talk yet. She knows broadly that babies come out of women’s bodies and that women have eggs but we haven’t talked about anything beyond that.

I feel like I have to say something as clearly she’s picked up on the conversations right now and I’d rather be the one who tells her what’s going on then her trying to figure this out on her own.

And I know folks are going to immediately say troll, but I promise I’m not. This happened tonight and I desperately need advice on how to move forward.

You say some people do give their baby to someone else and move on. She didn’t ask you about abortion she asked you about adoption.