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Original poster

Teacher told my child that child is not a Muslim

511 replies

Jkam24 · 10/09/2025 20:45

My daughter has recently started reception and asked me today if our family are Muslims, to which I said yes. She then started crying saying her teacher told her that she (my daughter) is not a Muslim. Is it unreasonable to be angry about this?

OP posts:
soupyspoon · 10/09/2025 21:03

Jkam24 · 10/09/2025 20:59

Let's not be patronising, I'm sure you are well aware why someone might have done this.

If you'e making some sort of accusation about the teacher spell it out, dont be shy.

Original poster
Jkam24 · 10/09/2025 21:03

Agreed a hundred percent. I just told her perhaps she didn't know, and gave her context about everyone believing different things and how that's ok. Just overthinking the conversation and getting irritated at the thought of it happening as my daughter is quite good with her communication. Wanted to get a feel of others opinions and I'm definitely overthinking it.

OP posts:
arcticpandas · 10/09/2025 21:01

My DS now 15 told me when he was around your dds age that X parents were mean because they had cut his penis off. The boy had had a medical procedure at the hospital which I explained to my DS:).

Kids misunderstand. Maybe the teacher said something like "school is not a religious setting, it's for learning". What I found was offensive when my child was in state primary (now in private Catholic secondary but I'm atheist and so is my son he says) was that many of the muslim boys were referring to a whole bunch of normal activities as "haram" (dancing, holding hands etc)...

Original poster
Jkam24 · 10/09/2025 20:59

Let's not be patronising, I'm sure you are well aware why someone might have done this.

OP posts:
Kohll · 10/09/2025 20:59

Yes, it's unreasonable to be 'angry about this' because what adult genuinely randomly tells a child he/she (the child) is not a particular religion.

If your child has to ask you her religion in the first place, she isn't clear on that either. So I'm guessing she's misunderstood - the interaction or the whole concept.

Randomlygeneratedname · 10/09/2025 20:58

Jkam24 · 10/09/2025 20:57

I'm not sure where I said I instantly believed her. My DD is advanced for her age therefore I asked her this explain a few times / in a few different ways, so concluded there is a chance that she would be telling the truth.

I don't think anyone thinks she is lying, I think it is more than likely to be a misunderstanding.

Original poster
Jkam24 · 10/09/2025 20:57

I'm not sure where I said I instantly believed her. My DD is advanced for her age therefore I asked her this explain a few times / in a few different ways, so concluded there is a chance that she would be telling the truth.

OP posts:
Randomlygeneratedname · 10/09/2025 20:57

How did the conversation go, as described by your child?

FOJN · 10/09/2025 20:56

It's not unreasonable to be angry if it's true but you've started a thread seeking support for your anger before you've established the facts. Hopefully you'll be feeling more open minded when you speak to the teacher.

IJustCantStayAway · 10/09/2025 20:54

Jkam24 · 10/09/2025 20:51

I'll be addressing it with the teacher tomorrow in case it is a misunderstanding.

Of course it’s a misunderstanding. Why on earth would a teacher tell a Muslim child she is not a Muslim? 😒

soupyspoon · 10/09/2025 20:53

It seems unlikely. Im not sure why you would instantly think it happened. Does it sound likely that a teacher would say this?

Its not impossible, but does it sound likely?

bitterexwife · 10/09/2025 20:52

My reception child told teacher that husband and I were separating and he was going to live with grandparents. He was going to STAY with grandparents whilst we went to Dubai for 3 nights.

Coldnightsapproachingwhereismyduvet · 10/09/2025 20:52

When my dd was 4 she can home hysterical her teacher had said she was a Human Being and she didn't want to be one.
4 year olds get easily mixed up.

User37482 · 10/09/2025 20:51

I would have a chat with the teacher, I’ve had some very garbled conversations with mine when she was there.

greencrab · 10/09/2025 20:51

Honestly I wouldn't worry about this at all, just say something light-hearted to your daughter like "Sometimes grown ups make mistakes and say the arguing things or sometimes we don't explain things well and people understand. I think it was really clever if you to check something you heard that didn't sound right"

And move on. The school years are long and there will be countless upsets the best thing you can do is model to your child a chilled out attitude and problem solving

CatrionaBalfour · 10/09/2025 20:51

When you gave school your details, did you specify "Muslim" as your daughter's religion, or was that left blank?

Original poster
Jkam24 · 10/09/2025 20:51

I'll be addressing it with the teacher tomorrow in case it is a misunderstanding.

OP posts:
BusWankers · 10/09/2025 20:50

My DD is in Year 1 and her friend is telling anyone who will listen about how her granny died from falling off a ladder and smashed her head open.

Granny is very much alive and has never fallen off a ladder

Auroraloves · 10/09/2025 20:50

I’m not sure I’d be getting outraged by the word of a 4 year old before I checked the facts

CatrionaBalfour · 10/09/2025 20:50

Your daughter doesn't know if your family are Muslims or not.
Was there some confusion from the teacher?.

SophieJo · 10/09/2025 20:49

KittytheHare · 10/09/2025 20:47

Well I wouldn’t take the word of a four year old straight off. If it’s that upsetting to you check with the teacher.

Totally agree!

Smartiepants79 · 10/09/2025 20:49

Have a conversation with the teacher.
Would school have been aware of your family’s faith? Your DD didn’t seem to be.
It may possibly be as your DD has said but I suspect that there’s a bit more to this conversation.

Childanddogmama · 10/09/2025 20:49

4 year olds get the wrong end of the stick all the time. You just need to ask the teacher about it.

Sassylovesbooks · 10/09/2025 20:49

Speak to the teacher before you start jumping to conclusions. Children, especially little ones do misunderstand things that they are told or hear.

pizzaHeart · 10/09/2025 20:48

I wouldn’t be angry at this stage as it could be that she misunderstood something so I would go tomorrow and ask politely what happened.