There isn’t just one answer to the question, “Where do babies come from?”
Image: Shutterstock
If you’re a parent to a young child, you may have encountered the age-old question from out the innocent mouth of your babe, Where do babies come from? Once upon a time, this may have been an easy enough question to tackle. The scientific answer was always an option, as were dramatized falsities such as that of the stork dropping a little baby gift to its mommy and daddy.
Answering this question in 2013 is more challenging; there are babies being born in all sorts of ways to diverse and ever-changing families. There are families with more than two parents, with one parent, with same-sex parents. Likewise, babies aren’t necessarily being delivered by any old stork these days. Surrogacy, in vitro fertilization, adoption, and many other means allow for families to grow. How does a parent even begin to explain all of this to their child, whom they want to be informed, but not overwhelmed?
Silverberg’s book, What Makes a Baby, is incredibly inclusive.
Image: Shutterstock
Sexuality educator Cory Silverberg asked himself the same question, and created his own solution in the form of an incredibly inclusive children’s book. Written by Silverberg and illustrated by award-winning Canadian artist Fiona Smyth, What Makes a Baby is a book “for every kind of family and every kind of kid,” according to its synopsis. “It is a twenty-first century children’s picture book about conception, gestation, and birth, which reflects the reality of our modern time by being inclusive of all kinds of kids, adults, and families, regardless of how many people were involved, their orientation, gender and other identity, or family composition,” the book’s description explains.
What Makes a Baby has received an overwhelmingly positive response from families of all kinds. Author Silverberg not only wanted to tell a beautiful story, but also to create an inclusive, informative dialogue between parents and children with his educational book, making it truly the first of its kind.
To learn more about What Makes a Baby, take a peek at the book’s promotional trailer.