When I Gave My Kids the 'Big Talk' at Costco
Anonymous Scandalous Whisperer #855 · General
So here's a doozy. This past Sunday morning, my kids and I were at Costco getting our weekly shopping done before the weekend crowds hit. We have this routine where we split up into teams for different aisles but regroup every hour to pick up new stuff from the hot food station. Anyway, last week, they asked me why some of the parents in line were covering their kids' eyes as a couple walked past holding hands with matching wedding bands. I had to explain it was about grown-up love and marriage. But now here we are a week later, and my four-year-old is asking questions like why people hug differently sometimes or why the checkout lady called her husband 'sweetie.' I'm at Costco with two curious little ones and all these thoughts swirling in my head. So I took a deep breath and launched into an explanation about different types of relationships and families, trying to keep it age-appropriate but informative. My kids were actually pretty good sports about the whole thing, but now here's where the confession part comes in: at one point during this big 'talk,' I looked over to see my partner rolling their eyes from another aisle over 20 feet away. They know we're discussing family structures and different types of relationships, but they couldn't believe how in-depth our conversation was getting amidst the hum of trolleys whizzing by and kids crying for treats. Did anyone else have a moment like this at an unexpected time? Is it normal to go into such detail about love and marriage while shopping for toilet paper and snacks? I'm still processing this one myself and would love to hear from others who might've had similar experiences or advice on how they handled these types of questions in public places. Thanks!