To say something about religious nativity play?

[JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff]

The DC go to a private day nursery. It doesn't have a religious affiliation. It was their Christmas play today. They did a loose version of the nativity and then at the end, there was a bit of recitation - "and that baby Jesus grew up to do amazing miracles. He died to save all the people in the world. Christians believe he came back from the dead and everyone who finds Jesus will be happy."

Dd who is under 4 is now asking "what does it mean, Jesus died?" And "should we go and look for Jesus?"

Aibu to mention to nursery management that this has resulted in some awkward conversations and maybe next year, they could choose something non-religious, bearing in mind lots of the families that use the nursery aren't believing Christians?

Hold the front page. "School holds a religious nativity play." Sad face Mary and Joseph in the Daily Mail perhaps?

I'm still smiling at the brilliantly tautologous "religious nativity play".

Coincidentally, I went to one only this afternoon. a large group of 3-7 year olds enacted and sang a religious nativity play, because that's what most infant schools do at Christmas. it was just lovely.

Anniehm if you put a Christmas tree in your house then that is just one of many pagan winter solstice traditions you do..

Winter solstice traditions have become so merged with Christianity that people don't know the difference nowadays!

As my Muslim friend put it, the only people concerned about Christmas in a multicultural society are middle class white busy bodies! Joseph had a turban this year, Mary was Spanish and with 44 nationalities represented at the school
This is very true.

The only people I know who get agitated and wound up about Christian festivals are white, middle class busy-bodies. Everyone else seems to grasp that Christmas is as much a cultural tradition as it is a religious one.

I'm still smiling at the brilliantly tautologous "religious nativity play"

It's hilarious, isn't it? I'm an atheist to the bone, but still think if you're going to have a nativity it should be religious. That's the whole point.

Are you an American living in the UK?

Basically it's cultural, in the UK all small children do nativity plays. Noone is particularly religious, but it's a rite of passage of childhood.

I'm sure you could exclude your child in the future, but you've got quite a few years of nativity plays to get through!

I suspect OP that it wouldn’t o cue to the nursery that they were “introducing” 4 yos to death and religion because they pretty much assume that you will have already done so...

How is it that you think children develop critical thinking skills if not by discussing these kind of concepts at home and asking lots and lots of “awkward” questions.
Isolating your D.C. from these kind of concepts is absolutely not the way to develop critical thinking skills.

However all that aside, how the hell are you reading the Gruffalo story if she is scared by it???

The Gruffalo is funny, seriously funny.

I see where you're coming from OP. I don't mind them doing the Christmas story but the extra bit at the end about those who find Jesus being happy is too much. They shouldn't present religion as fact. Just as a belief or a choice.

my sister just said her god-daughter did a version of the shreks chrismtas.and she is neither a green man or believe herself to be a pig,gingerbrad man or one of the other characters.and however will she now tell her son that "no darlin donkeys don't talk" god the school should have been more sensitive!

They shouldn't present religion as fact. Just as a belief or a choice

The OP explicitly said that they said ‘Christians believe...’

I just question whether the sort of evangelical approach is best for very young children many of whom come from nonreligious families.

Have you ever met evangelicals? I was raised in an evangelical church. What you've described bears no resemblance to what I was exposed to at that age. Now if you'd said that they stood at the end and preached fire and brimstone and the end of the world, repent before it's too late, hell, hell and more hell, then I'd recognise it

Having kids is awkward. As in they ask awkward questions, often at awkward times and in awkward ways. It's part of the job you sign up to as a parent. No, you don't have to give her graphic details and a mocked up autopsy report but a simple explanation of death which fits your beliefs is more than deserved. If you're happy to have Christmas in your home you need to be happy to have this conversation- it's not just about a man in a red suit!

Yes fair enough @SoyDora they did say that.

I don't mind my dc learning the Christmas story or other religious stories, myths and legends. When asked I say "before we had science to help us understand the world, people used to make up stories to help them make sense of life. It's still fun to keep the traditions and stories even though we don't believe the magic stories anymore"

Not much time to dip back into this but middlingmum that was a typo for "religious nursery play". I obviously had nativity on the brain! It has never been a nativity before as it is not a religious institution, unlike a CofE primary, say.

Laughing at having to explain things you don't believe in. I've had to dig deep into my very limited knowledge of other cultures to explain Moana to my 5 year old and what Polynesian cultures believe!!!

And for goodness sake just tell her that when people's body doesn't work they die. They are no longer alive. And then you might have to explain what we do with the body but honestly, outwith an actual death is so much easier to explain and it means when great granny or whoever actually dies you can just say "they have died" and your child already knows what that means.

Your kids will come across all manner of beliefs as they grow and experience the wider world. We just repeat that lots of people believe all sorts of things and that many people don't believe whatever it is they're questioning. Our dc are older and we talk about evidence when these issues come up and can see them now using their own logic to fathom other people's beliefs. Alongside this we talk about why people might hold certain beliefs which, we hope, builds respect and understanding.

Just explain that you don’t believe it. Easy.

Try a book as a starting point OP, Goodbye Mog is a good one, it is a conversation you will need to have with her.
Any nativity will be loosely based on Christianity, it's the nativity. As a HT I've seen nativities ranging from Strictly Come Dancing to Aliens visiting Earth as themes but ultimately the thread running through the whole story is always the Christian nativity story.

Surely you can explain what death means to a child?

*It has never been a nativity before as it is not a religious institution, unlike a CofE primary, say.

I hate to break this to you, but when your child goes to school - any school - they are obliged to provide a collective act of mainly Christian worship every day. And at primary school, they're going to be doing the Baby Jesus every year.

You can, of course, withdraw your child from it all, as well as compulsory RE lessons...

It is a real problem this religion in schools thing. The way I dealt with it, and it seems to have been a success, is to take an interest in religion. All religions. So when something crops up, you can say "yes, interesting, and X religion says that too".Or " Christians used to think Y, but now some seem to think X" ...and so on. Both my kids did GCSE Religionny Stuff , both liked it a lot, neither has ever had any religious beliefs. Perhaps I was lucky. With a nativity, the line was " good story... though actually, it could never have happened like that, because of A, B and C, but it IS a nice story". Seemed to work. Not right to say it's all nonsense, I think.

I agree with KayM2.

Moreover, Christianity (and I'm certainly not a Christian, by the way) is fundamental to our national heritage.

Christmas is technically a pagan holiday, rebranded as Christian to get those still refusing to conform to christianity to change.

It's a play. It's harmless. I'm sure your dd will forget about it soon enough, there easy to change subject with at that age

at the thought of a non-religious nativity play.

Ffs OP, get a grip and for the sake of your dd don't become that parent although I heavily suspect that you already are

It has never been a nativity before as it is not a religious institution, unlike a CofE primary, say.

Most primary schools do a Nativity. They are dressed up as the Grumpy Sheep, or the Miserable Camel, but at the end there is a Nativity. And I'm talking State primaries, not just church schools.

They will learn the story of Jesus. They will colour pictures. They will learn Away in a Manger. You won't get away without it.

I'm not sure how you're going to cope with Easter though...

Part of being a parent means dealing with questions that children ask. it is very common for children to ask about death when grandparents/ pets die or when they see a runover fox or badger or cat.