Nikki's $1M Question

"The first and simplest emotion which we discover in the human mind, is curiosity." - Edmund Burke. Who the hell is Edmund Burke? Hindi ko din alam. Who cares?! Duk lan! I think this is him. Read on.

Did I already mention in my previous entries that I come to work at 3:30AM and end my shift at 12:30PM? Sometimes, I get to sleep late like 9:00-9:30PM na. Yes, that's already late for me 'no. Heller, gigising pa ako ng 2:00AM.

Okay, going back. Sometimes, I would sneak quietly into the room in the afternoon - so Calli would not notice I was gone from the living room otherwise she would run to the bed faster than I could to force me play her favorite video clip of her birthday party or jump up and down on the bed (Okay, that's another story) - to take power naps.

Yesterday was one of those times. I woke up before dinner time, around 5:30PM I guess. Nikki is usually already home from school by that time. There was Nikki and Calli in the living room and they had obviously been watching TV. As soon as I walked out the bedroom door headed to the bathroom to pee, Nikki asked me her $1M question.

Nikki: Mommy, ano ang sex?

Huwaaaat?! I was stunned and dumbfounded and everything. I did not respond and walked straight to the bathroom. Mike Enriquez ang peg niya. Hindi kita tatantanan Mommeeh! She walked with me to the bathroom.

Nikki: Mommy, ano ang sex?! Sex yun ha, S-E-X. Hindi six na number Mommy ha. Ano yun?

Yeah Nikki. I heard you the first time you said it and I know how to spell honey. That's what I wanna tell her but opkors I did not.

Nakakatawa pa siya kasi while she was spelling S-E-X out, her index finger was against the bathroom door as if she was writing S-E-X with it, to emphasize na hindi six yun na S-I-X kundi sex talaga na S-E-X. ^_^

By the way, even with my kids around, I pee (pee lang naman) with the door open. I dress or change clothes even with them inside the room. I don't care kahit makita nila. Pare-pareho lang kaming may "pipit".  ^_^

Mommy: Saglit lang Mahal ha? Ihi lang si Mommy.

Nag-iisip pa ako ng isasagot sa kanya na kakayanin ng powers niya. ^_^

Apparently, she saw the TV ad of a noodle brand promoting its advocacy Kainang Pamilya Mahalaga. The daddy in the TV ad held a broadsheet with a headline "12 out of 13 Teens Engage in Pre-marital Sex" or something to that effect. She'd seen this TV ad couple times in the past but yesterday was the first time she noticed the headline in the broadsheet that the dad was holding. Di ko alam kung matutuwa ako or maiinis. I was caught in dumbfoundedness.

Here's how our conversation progressed.

Mommy: (Habang umiihi) Saan mo nakita yun Mahal? 

Kunwari lang di ko alam pero alam ko na talaga. Pang-intro lang ba? ^_^

Nikki: Sa TV po.

Mommy: Yun ang tawag sa ginagawa ng mag-asawa para magkaanak, para mabuntis ang mommy. Di ba tinatanong mo nun kung paano ka nabuo? Yun ang tawag dun sa English, sex.

Nikki: Ano pa ang ibang tawag dun sa English, Mommy?

Mommy: Ibang tawag? (Naku, buti na lang synonyms "sa English" ang hinihingi niya kundi baka matae na ako! ^_^)

Nikki: Opo. (Pause) Pwede bang "couple" Mommy? "Couple" ba ang ibang tawag dun?

Mommy: "Couple" ang pwedeng itawag sa mga mag-asawa. Pero ang ibang tawag sa sex ay "love-making" o "mating".

Looking satisfied with my answer, Nikki left the bathroom door before I could finish up. Na parang wala lang nangyari sa kanya. Very innocent mind.

I realized, oh my gosh, malaki na si Ate Nikki. Nakakapagbasa na nga pala siya. I need to be there most, if not all the time whenever she's watching TV. There are a lot of ideas that TV ads and shows offer that need a lot of explaining to kids. 

Few things that I do to lessen their time spent watching TV are --

1.) Let them spend  reasonable amount of their appropriate time playing on the street. No problem, our street is safe. That way, they go out from the house, away from the TV, have physical interaction with their playmates, learn to socialize and become physically and socially fit. 

2.) Buy them materials for arts and crafts. I don't mind if they make a lot of mess in the house. I've already started teaching them how to clean up. And yaya is there to the rescue. ^_^

There are some others but I think that's another story to tell soon.

Kayo, what questions have your kids asked you that shocked you to heart attack?

Ciao! ♥