Should a 9 year old (year 5) know who Adam and Eve are?

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Is this general knowledge for this age? My niece doesn't know who they are and I'm sure I did at that age. But maybe I'm old LOL.

Would I expect them to know?

I have just ask my DS who is 9. I got 'what, is it that Christian story?'. I was 50/50 that he knew what it is before I asked.

Are you being competitive with general knowledge with a 9 year old?

What does it say in the rule book of life?

It depends. Are they aware of any other myths? Greek ones?

These sort of fictional characters go in and out of fashion as stories become more and less popular.

I’d say it would be a common thing to know, not something I’d necessarily expect a child to know. Especially if they don’t go to a religious school.

But…why are you competing with a 9 year old? Weird flex.

Maybe if they go to a C of E school but other than that, no - it’s just a story after all.

If they are being raised in a faith that believes that story then yes, otherwise I wouldn't expect them to know much about it at that age.

In the same way they will know about Santa, ie an old, fictitious story, yes they probably would. Though Santa was based on a living person, unlike Adam and Eve.

Mine would have done. But I am an atheist so I made sure my children were well versed in all the main myths and legends.

Depends if they are from a Christian family, whether full bore church every week or just at Christmas/Easter, attend a Christian school, or if they are from another faith, or none.

And yes before it starts we are nominally a Christian country. So a kid from a non-religious family at a non-religious school probably has more chance of knowing who Adam and Eve are or the circumstances of Jesus being killed than they do to know about Brahama or to be able to name the five pillars of Islam. Don't think you can say they "should" know though.

Too many myths and legends to know them all

In Ireland and children attend Multi denomination school. They may recall the names and place in line with certain religions but not necessarily the detail.

Their knowledge of physics, mathematics, history, geography often allows them to answer the odd university challenge questions so I would not be conceived about a story.

I would expect a 9yo to have been introduced to some of the larger creation myths, including Adam and Eve.

mine went through a mythology phase so did the greatest hits tour as is popular with children who find that hobby.

@givemushypeasachance "Don't think you can say they "should" know though."

I think you can. I think it's important to know about the main religions and myths of the country you live in.

I would say that a 9 year old should know the creation story of the official religion of their country, yes.

No competing. Just surprised they didn't know and wondered if I was wrong in my expectations.

My 7 year old knows about creation but not about Adam and Eve and the garden of Eden which I'm fine with. I feel the Catholic Church has moved away from the devil. Our religion book also has some dinos bopping around in the background on the pictures that accompany creation.

Well I did, but then I was 9 in the early 1970's and my parents had bought me a book of bible stories for children, which they encouraged me to read. I also had books with the old Arabian Nights tales, Sinbad the Sailor, Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves, all that sort of thing. I doubt whether many children these days know those stories either.

Well yes, but Adam and Eve is rather a biggie.

Do some 9 year olds know who Adam and Eve are? Yes.

Did significantly more 9 years olds know who Adam and Eve are in the 70s and 80s? Yes, we were a much more Christian country back then.

Should a 9 year old know who Adam and Eve are? No, no more than they should know what a Kardashian is, or who Wayne Rooney is, or who Mr Bobby or Tiny Winky or Margaret Thatcher are. It's a random bit of information that they may or may not have come across.

I would expect a 9 year old to know that yes. Surely it’s basic religious education in this country whether the child is from a religious family or not. My family is not religious and I think I learned about Adam and Eve in reception when I was four. That being said, it isn’t the end of the world that she doesn’t know and it’s easily sorted. Why don’t you just tell her the story?

Well, I did tell her who they were.

I gather it's not taught in primary any more. So maybe that's the difference?

My DS didn't. I am atheist and think it's nonsense so why would I tell him.

I would say it depends on your school and family background. I live in a very culturally mixed area. There are a couple of church schools but many are multi denominational. So time is given over to a wide range of religions in the RE syllabus here. The main Christianity focused story at primary was the Nativity, so no, Adam and Eve probably didn’t get much coverage. However I would say my children have a better grasp of world religions and festivals than I ever did at my church school. We’re not a religious family so it doesn’t worry me in the slightest. If anything I would say my children are much more worldly wise and culturally rounded than I was at the same age. I’d certainly never heard about Eid at age nine.