Trans child - sports day

My eldest wanted to be a dog at that age. Spent about a year going round on all 4s and barking, etc. It was the only game she wanted to play.

I'm obviously a bad mum cos I didn't take her on walks or feed her dog food. She was absolutely convinced she could be a dog though and would snuggle in our dog's bed and pretend to sleep there.

We explained that it was impossible, but she could play this game if she still wanted to, and then pretty much ignored it.

Like most trans kids, when left alone, she grew out of it (and is now highly embarrassed by it and can't believe she did it).

I could totally see this being my little boy. He's 5 years old, in reception. He ADORES his big sis, whenever together he will deny liking trucks, cars, football to appear poor acceptable to her. Hey when he's with his pals he reverts back to car/football/dinosaur loving little boy. However what would happen if his sister went to nursery with him, would it stop?

It's frickin ridiculous, I would have to report to social services I think

I have a huge problem with this. The young child being told they’re trans is really problematic, but that’s something separate for me here.

What’s awful is it’s normalising allowing boys and men into girls and women’s sports for these 5 year olds. They will always have had a boy competing and when puberty hits and the physical differences mean something they won’t know to complain. It’s so manipulative in making these girls accept something as a given when it shouldn’t be. Ditto if this small child is using the girls loos etc - it’s preventing boundaries being set and it’s akin to grooming IMO.

Wrong in so many ways

They’re only in yr1 but physically there is already a difference in size in general between the girls and boys

I find that very hard to believe. I've worked in primary classes for years and the children in one year group vary in size and height enormously with some girls a whole head taller than boys and vice versa.

There can almost a year in age difference and this has more impact in Year 1 than their biological sex.

When I was that age, I wanted to be a rabbit.

Poor little boy.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=UQMHB01YhK8

It's not reasonable to equate parents or schools permitting a child to present as the other gender with child abuse. MNHQ have asked lots of times that posters don't do that. Fair enough to disagree with those choices, but lining it up with child abuse crosses the line MNHQ have decided on, and this is their gaff.

If by 'presenting as another gender' you mean wearing what they like and playing with whatever toys they like, then of course. That's irrelevant.

If though you mean affirming or encouraging a male child to falsely believe, state and demand acceptance as a female child, then I would say that is equivalent to any other emotional abuse. Teaching a child a lie which may ultimately lead to great distress and infertility if they come to believe and internalise that lie as if it were true.
This male child is not being merely told that they are a boy who likes certain things. The class are apparently told to accept him as if he were the opposite SEX. He is running with the opposite sex. This is not about 'presentation' or expression.

So as always, it comes down to what you mean by your words.

If you have concerns about how sports day was run it's usually best to ask to speak to the head teacher about it. That's way you can raise any issues with someone who can actually put your mind to rest, or make changes if needed.

I don't get why kids are separated into boys and girls so much at early primary, and there's often no good reason for it all, so that's a good starting point.

It's not reasonable to equate parents or schools permitting a child to present as the other gender with child abuse. MNHQ have asked lots of times that posters don't do that. Fair enough to disagree with those choices, but lining it up with child abuse crosses the line MNHQ have decided on, and this is their gaff.

Crikey.

My littlest daughter is in year 1 and currently wants to be a ninja or a minivan driver.

How long before a staff member suggests I contact Mermaids, do you reckon?

Poor kid. They are a kid. They aren't trans.

This kind of grooming is disgusting. One is being taught that everyone will bow down to their rights and needs over everyone else and the rest are being taught that boys feelings matter more and that it's not worth them even trying.

It's not right for any of them.

Poor children

So the child is 5 or 6? Wow, when did they transition? Poor kid. I know loads of children that age and half of them identify as dogs or robots. What are the parents thinking

Also a bit about a child transitioning socially so young. Is a year one child even capable of understanding the differences between the sexes at that age..

I don't think that the difference is marginal. My child is in preschool and at the younger end of the year. Compared to him most of the girls look like victorian street urchins. May just be his class though. When I first saw them all together I was a bit shocked by how much bigger the boys looked.

If boy races and girl races are pointless in primary, just have one race for everyone. Don't pretend boy races and girl races are unimportant, yet vitally important to ensure the mental well-being of one child.

Year 1 - so very wrong.

I think what's most important here is the acceptance the child has from their peers.

This child is being brought up to believe that all women and girls will always defer to what they say and will be punished if they don't. This is how to create a narcissistic.

It’s very difficult to walk the line between trying to avoid causing distress to the child in question and being fair to other kids and trying to avoid pushing the child down an undesirable path when this is most likely to pass in the future.
I do think though that at age 5 there are few to no physical differences between girls and boys and that by segregating them, it is contributing to children feeling they don’t fit into the binary. I remember that when I was at school, often the class would be divided into boys and girls for no real reason. I think that at primary school, there should be an effort to ensure that no distinction is made between girls and boys to avoid kids feeling that ‘only girls can do X’ etc. That way, someone presenting as non-conforming makes less of a difference and i would imagine that it would make it more likely that said child would simply grow out of this. However, by making a big thing of ‘being a girl’ and making this into being treated differently, it makes it more likely that the ‘trans’ status will continue.

gendercritter couldn’t agree with you more! I keep being deleted for saying so though

The strongest girls are not as strong as the strongest boys.

But hey it’s only girls sports, who cares.

This.

I wonder what will be the expectation as the child goes up the school and into secondary?