To find this behaviour utterly illogical?

[DrSeuss]

Surely if you ban your child from having anything to do with Harry Potter to the extent that they can’t attend a Hogwarts themed birthday party and don’t allow them to celebrate Halloween at all, all on the grounds that the Bible forbids magic and witchcraft, you can’t then allow the child free access to “The Wizard of Oz” or hold a Peter Pan themed party or one with an Elsa from Frozen in costume? The book of Deuteronomy does indeed forbid magic according to Google. I find it firstly nonsensical and also a nightmare to navigate as the parent of such a child’s friend. Newest one is that David Walliams books are OK except for “The Demon Dentist “. I have no issue with people believing whatever makes them happy and would describe myself as having a Christian faith ( not very observant but still familiar with all the teachings of the C of E). The parents are C of E too but of a very different type to either my family or the Anglican school where I work, both being pretty accepting of all shades of belief. It’s quite tricky when my daughter and theirs want to spend time together. Something such as a simple cinema visit becomes so complicated when a film which has a suitable certificate for primary age children must still be pre approved in case it contains a forbidden theme. This is made even harder when Disney magic is deemed fine but others may not be.
Ideally, I would like someone with greater theological knowledge than me or who also believes that portrayals of magic in popular culture are wrong to help me understand and maybe give me some guidelines. I did once try asking why Disney was fine but Harry Potter wasn’t but the mother didn’t really answer me, just said that’s how it is. I asked the child as gently as possible if she was aware of why she can watch the witches in Oz but she said quite frankly that she didn’t know.

I am frustrated by the woolliness of their arguments and the arbitrary nature of decisions but this girl is a good friend of my daughter’s and is a pleasant child so I persevere.

I really hope someone can advise me.

I just remembered, the hardcore "wee free" parents at our school wouldn't let their children take part in the mindfulness sessions or yoga either. (It was a 10 week PE thing where the idea they moved away from normal PE activities and tried new stuff like yoga, zumba, shinty, bowls....)

Because it was deemed spiritual, or mind altering or something.

@Wroxie

I grew up in one of those weird religions families. I was slightly too old for Harry Potter but there were lots of other strict and illogical rules about what media I could and couldn't consume. Halloween and anything related to Christmas or Easter that wasn't strictly bible-based and Jesus- centred was completely off limits. There were also issues with secular music, almost every movie, most normal clothes, lots of perfectly nice and normal children's books, and food (parents were weird health nuts in addition to being super religious). It was also all quite abusive - for example, being grounded on multiple occasions from literally every activity aside from chores, homework, and reading the bible for months at a time as punishment for minor infractions like talking to a boy on the telephone, having all clothes taken away except for one outfit that I had to wear to school every day (didn't have uniform where I grew up), and spending the entirety of my teenage years without a bedroom door.

If you can, please don't cut children like me out of your life and stop your own kids from seeing them. Please try to be a little generous. The non-religious friends (and their parents) who held on in spite of how difficult my parents made it were my lifeline and I am always grateful that they put up with my parent's bullshit so I could escape my weird, dark, joyless home now and again.

Thanks for sharing your experiences, my husband had similar. I am feeling guilty reading your post as I did cut one of my children's friendships as I found it too much. My sense was that their house was dark and joyless and everything was so controlled and micromanaged. Everything I suggested she would slightly change and query and in the end I realised I wasn't emotionally balanced enough to judge what was ok and what wasn't anymore. I do feel for the child but I also had the impression that she was so deeply entrenched they just saw us as lawless and lacking in moral fibre. It was a horribly sad situation and I deeply hope that that child will find a way out at some point. but it won't be with us.

I have a little girl in my class (yr1) whose family are very religious. I have to be very careful which stories I pick at storytime, as there are so many I don't even think of that she isn't allowed to listen to. The most recent rejection was 'Funnybones' because "Jesus doesn't like skeletons".

I just don't get it - everyone has a skeleton!

I have a little girl in my class (yr1) whose family are very religious. I have to be very careful which stories I pick at storytime, as there are so many I don't even think of that she isn't allowed to listen to. The most recent rejection was 'Funnybones' because "Jesus doesn't like skeletons".

Why would your school pander to this? If they don’t like it then homeschooling it is 🤷‍♀️ I don’t think pussy footing around this sort of thing is ok when it affects the rest of the class. You’re essentially validating a nonsensical idea that is not in line with modern life. What if someone said their religion forbade girls talking out loud in the class? Or reading a book with a non-Christian main character. Would you accommodate this too? Or they thought ‘Jesus doesn’t like racial equality’? Lines need to be drawn somewhere (mine would be firmly drawn at ‘Jesus doesn’t like skeletons’ 🙄) If I knew my child was unable to enjoy perfectly normal stories in her class and cuckoo crazy notions of Jesus doesn’t like butterflies/ aeroplanes/ synchronised swimming or whatever was being normalised I wouldn’t be happy.

@Rosesareyellow

I have a little girl in my class (yr1) whose family are very religious. I have to be very careful which stories I pick at storytime, as there are so many I don't even think of that she isn't allowed to listen to. The most recent rejection was 'Funnybones' because "Jesus doesn't like skeletons".

Why would your school pander to this? If they don’t like it then homeschooling it is 🤷‍♀️ I don’t think pussy footing around this sort of thing is ok when it affects the rest of the class. You’re essentially validating a nonsensical idea that is not in line with modern life. What if someone said their religion forbade girls talking out loud in the class? Or reading a book with a non-Christian main character. Would you accommodate this too? Or they thought ‘Jesus doesn’t like racial equality’? Lines need to be drawn somewhere (mine would be firmly drawn at ‘Jesus doesn’t like skeletons’ 🙄) If I knew my child was unable to enjoy perfectly normal stories in her class and cuckoo crazy notions of Jesus doesn’t like butterflies/ aeroplanes/ synchronised swimming or whatever was being normalised I wouldn’t be happy.

Totally agree

My son wanted The Little Vampire to be the theme at our Hallowe'en Party.Great excitement - the LV was the craze that year.
The next thing was a call from one of the little boy,'s mother. Was it a fancy dress party? Was it vampire themed? Really?
Surely not!And off she went on a rant about her son not going because of the theme. She kept pausing to give me a chance to say I'd cancel the vampire but my only concession was that her son could come in ordinary clothes. She was acting as if I was going to sacrifice naked virgins on the altar.
I made my excuses and hung ip. So her child was the only one in the class not to come.
When I saw the vampire guests swinging down the street with their black cloaks billowing in the wind and their white shirt fronts and black tie - I thought they the tiny vampires were absolutely adorable. It takes
a nasty mind to see sin in little children having fun.