Recently I had my son (8) in the car together with some of his friends, a boy/girl twin pair of the same age. It is always a great learning experience to have some kids in the back of the car, interacting with each other, without really involving or even noticing me. In situations like this, I usually erect a ‘somebody-else’s-problem-field’ (*) around me so that I remain the non-existent observer.

The subject at that time was babies, and birth. Like usual in this area, girls are a bit ahead of boys, so the girl was pushing some rather interesting data towards the two boys. When the boys were slightly skeptical about some of the facts submitted, they pierced my veil once or twice to solicit my expert advice.

I certainly answered, but sparingly so. We were on the way to the ice rink, and I did not really want to get started explaining any details, especially not to kids that I had only borrowed and whose parents’ plans I did not know. One of the questions for which my expert advice had been demanded was “Does the sperm really have to get to the egg?”

For me, the logical next question would have been, how the heck did that sperm get there? It surprised me again, as it had already several times before, that this question was not brought up. Makes me wonder if kids really only develop any curiosity when they are ready to actually face the facts. I still remember I was about 10 when the mechanics of that procedure entered my world and that it was rather disturbing.

From a very early age on, our son had learned that a baby grows in mommy’s tummy, and in pre-school he had a class where he saw pictures about how the baby was located – and again, the question of how it gets out there never came up.

(*) somebody else’s problem field – an invention by Douglas Adams of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy fame.