My daughter (who was five at the time) is a product of attachment parenting and sharing a one-bedroom apartment with a single mom. Now that we share a home with my boyfriend and his son, the idea of a bedroom’s being private space is coming slowly to her.
Recently, I was occupied with her little brother (pseudo-sibling? brother-to-be?), so she went to tell his dad that she was hungry. My boyfriend had just started removing pajama pants and his boxers when she popped open our bedroom door and chirped, “I want a wiener!”
Naturally, he was horrified. He is an introvert by nature, and should he ever Google this post, I am in hot water. Boiling in a cauldron, perhaps.
(Beware the witchy references...I am reading The Witches, by Roald Dahl, to my daughter, in honor of Halloween and Banned Books Month. A chapter a night fills a first grader with fright!)
Naturally, I laughed until I nearly peed. Then we had a talk about knocking. I also try to remember to knock before entering her room, as well. Hey, fair is fair.
What seemed completely unfair to her was that the son of my S.O. (heretofore used instead of "significant other") was in the bedroom with his father. I decided to K.I.S.S. --Keep It Simple, Stupid. I figured elaborating or sugar-coating would be ineffective.
"Why does G get to be in there with him?" She asked. **insert pout here**
"Because," I said, "He has a penis."
What do you think? Was I too blunt? How do you handle issues of privacy and boundaries? Should the approach vary for different age groups? Should this issue be handled differently in mixed families than in biological families?
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1 comment:
It's hard to explain to young children but I have the problem of my partners daughter always sneaking a peek in my sons bedroom when he is changing. We explain to her that it isn't appropriate but she keeps on peeking. How do you make her understand that bedrooms should be a private place in a home?
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