Telling and Talking 0-7yrs booklet plus Our Story (embryo donation for solo mum families - TWINS)
Telling and Talking 0-7yrs
This booklet is for parents of children age 0-7yrs 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
For children conceived through embryo donation (embryos donated by a couple) in solo mum families - TWINS VERSION
This delightful, beautifully illustrated book, aimed at children from 2-6yrs, explains in simple words and pictures how Mummy went to the clinic to get some help when she wanted to have a baby on her own.
The book is written in the first person, from the child's perspective, and explains how another couple shared their embryos to help Mummy. 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. The book also explains that the seed and egg join together to form a group of cells called an embryo and the embryo is what will grow into a baby. 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 what treatment was used and there are no details about who exactly the donors are. The book is designed as a simple starting point for women 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, you can add the details of your treatment as you tell the story to give the full picture. If you have information about the donors you can introduce that into the story at some point, if you wish.
Feedback from a solo mum
“We have read this book a lot. In fact, my son picked it out when my dad was doing bedtime stories last week and my dad commented on what a lovely story it was."
