Telling and Talking 0-7
This booklet is for parents of children age 0 – 7 in heterosexual couple, solo mum and lesbian families and of all donation types. As the Telling and Talking booklets were all written before DC Network had experience of parenting by gay male couples there are no direct references to these families, but the principles remain the same. Chapters cover Making the Decision to Tell, Preparing to Tell, Language – for referring to the donor, parts of the body and about being ‘special’; Your Child’s Development and ‘Telling’; Children of Single Parent or Lesbian families; ‘Telling’ if you have a Known Donor; Issues around Telling when your donor is Anonymous and a final section addressing mixed feelings regarding donor conception and the fear of rejection in teenage years. Written in a clear and easy to read style, this booklet, like the next three in the series, is full of quotes from experienced parents of donor conceived children.
Parents may also want to read Telling and Talking with Family and Friends to help with openness with relatives and others and Our Family, which is designed to be given to family and friends to help their understanding of donor conception and what it means for all involved.
Our Story (Sperm donation no clinic in mum and dad families – twins)
This delightful, beautifully illustrated book, aimed at children from 2-6yrs, explains in simple words and pictures how Mummy and Daddy got some help from a sperm donor when they were trying to have a baby (and assumes conception did not take place at a clinic).
The book is written in the first person, from the child’s perspective, and explains how a donor gave some of his seeds to help Mummy and Daddy. There is a simple explanation of how you need a seed from a man and an egg from a woman to make a baby but there is no reference to sex. It talks about how there are different ways to make a family and they come in all shapes and sizes.
There is no specific explanation of how the donor was found or who exactly they are. The book is designed as a simple starting point for parents to begin sharing the family story with their child. Parents can then build on that with more precise details as and when it feels appropriate. For example, if you have a known donor or have information about the donor you can introduce that into the story, if you wish.
