Last night, about halfway around the block, walking slowly, trying to let go of the stress of unpacking and laundry and semester prep, D asks, out of the blue:
“Where do people come from?”
I think she must be thinking about babies, because we’ve just spent time with her baby cousin, and I say, “Babies grow inside a mom, in her uterus, until they’re ready to be born.”
“No mom- the first people. Where did the first people come from?”
Her question is clear and reasonable, but I’m hesitant. T and I have not talked about what, if anything, we will tell our girls about God. I decide to go with science:
“So, a long, long time ago, there was a huge explosion called the Big Bang. That explosion created a lot of light and heat and energy in the universe, and on our planet, earth, the light and heat and energy meant that tiny creatures could start to exist. And very slowly, over a really long time, those creatures grew and changed a little bit at a time until eventually they were sort of like people. Sometimes we call them cave people. And the cave people kept growing and changing a little bit at a time, and slowly they became people more like us.”
We’re still walking. D is thinking. I am thinking I really need to brush up on my knowledge of evolution. Are there youtube videos about evolution for children? Lucy asks:
“What about sloths? Are sloths real?”
We talk about sloths for a minute. One of the differences between D and Lucy is that after you answer Lucy’s questions, she rarely needs any follow up. It’s hard to tell if she’s listening or understanding because she tends to scamper away as you’re answering. But D thinks it through and then repeats the answer to make sure she didn’t miss anything.
“Okay. So first was the big bam, and that big bam made the universe and the tiny creatures exist, and the tiny creatures grow and change to cave people, not like us, and the cave people grow and change to people people like us?”
“Yes. Does that make sense?”
She nods. We’re turning into our driveway. Lucy asks:
“But what about robot pinecones?”
What about robot pinecones indeed?
These are great questions. Maybe there’s a good library book about this topic. I mentioned Fish is Fish on facebook – it’s not particularly about evolution, but about (a) change/adaptation and (b) differences between species. And it’s also pretty.
Just try to think about it as the beginning of amazing conversations. Also, you can tell them that thanks to the big bang, we’re all made of stardust.
She will love the idea that the big bam means we are stardust. I’m so excited that she’s starting to ask these kinds of questions- its a whole new era of parenting for us. And the robot pine cones are a hilarious reminder that even though we have really started treating them as a duo, they do have very different needs and interests and are at different places– and I need to remember not to let Lucy get lost in the shuffle.
Also, I think “I don’t know, let’s find out together” is an appropriate response!
Where can I get robot pinecones?
And what would robot pinecones do? Would they be the size of real pinecones, or would they be giant?
So many questions. So few answers.
I assume they’d grow into robot pine trees. I’m now pretty fascinated by the concept of robotic vegetation.
We are stardust (billion-year-old carbon). We are golden. And we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden.
Or the robot pinecones.
Would there be robot pinecones in the garden? More unanswered questions!
And now I’m going to turn on some Joni Mitchell while I drink my coffee
I just got the SAME question from my daughter. I enjoyed reading your explanation. Mine was a bit more bumbling. Thank you for helping me think around this issue–and for the laugh! I just wrote a blog about it myself….If you feel like taking a look, here’s the link. Best, Melissa
http://www.lifewithsophia.blogspot.com/2012/10/why.html
Thanks for reading!! Melissa, I LOVE the way you wove God into your explanation of the Big Bang. This is something I’ve thought a lot about, but haven’t talked with my girls about, partly because of my own uncertainty about how to approach the issue and partly because my partner and I have different ideas about spirituality and faith.
And if you find any good kids books about evolution, let me know!!!