To think that 4/5 year olds should not be learning about d-day deaths?

[UponReflectionLake]

4 year old DS came home from school telling us about how they learned about D-Day, including how many people died, and the fighting. Whilst I agree kids should learn about this I definitely don’t think it should be foundation age children! DS suffers with nightmares and night terrors and already know this is going to cause many of them in the next few weeks. Husband says I’m overreacting, curious to see other mums opinions?

My illness is very visible and not at all able to be hidden. He started to have anxiety symptoms after my illness began. Not that I need to explain that. Please don’t start to think it’s okay to shame another person for having an illness…

Do you not get a newsletter or anything telling you about upcoming topics?

This is a standard early years / KS1 topic and for the majority of kids is fine. It sounds like your child has some needs that require additional support.

Luckily he’s learning about it today second hand as opposed to living through it as a 4/5 year old 80 years ago.

I will no longer be replying as I’ve had some really useful replies that I’ve taken on board and will use so thank you! Some of these comments however seem to not understand you can debate and have an opinion respectfully.

I remember having nightmares after learning about the Titanic at school. I’m not sure how you really tell that in a
age appropriate way: the ship hit an iceberg and people drowned in freezing waters.

I think at about 4-6 there are lots of interesting things you can learn about history like castles and cave people that are a bit less graphic. Yes of course knights etc killed each other; but a mass scale tragedy evokes death in a far more potent way.

Wow yabu and can't believe you say this. I've spent the morning with patients one who was 4 when his dad died on d day. He is proud of his dad.

I’m fairly certain they didn’t talk graphically about it or in those terms.

I find it inappropriate that he was told about it at all.

I was stood outside a reception class at Easter when they described how Jesus was nailed to a cross and had a crown of thorns placed on his head that made him bleed, so they absolutely can be far too graphic for 4 year olds. It’s completely unnecessary, there are age appropriate ways of explaining things.

Sorry but Dday is the same day every year, it hasn't changed for 80 years. It's also been all over the TV, radio, press etc. I don't think it's up to the school to give you a heads up, you should have known

Brave men and boys gave their lives 80 years ago so that you can enjoy the freedoms that you take for granted today. Why should their story not be told just so you can wrap your child in a bubble. It was brutal, it was unpleasant. That’s how life was and it shaped the country and the Europe that we now have.

@Donotneedit again, you finding something inappropriate doesn't make it inappropriate 🤷‍♀️

Don’t most kids watch horrible histories at that age? It’s actually okay for dc to be upset and probably a pretty good emotion to have when thinking about war. I hate the drive to stop dc feeling emotions in case it damages them. Not letting them have feelings is more damaging imo. You just say “we remember how awful it was to make sure we never forget and let it happen again.” Then distract and move on.

sympathies for your illness but to be brutally You need to deal with that yourself and if you feel he can’t cope then keep him off school. The world doesn’t revolve around you and your child

What understanding or experience does your child have of death?

Obviously if they've experienced something traumatic first hand that may be different, but for most kids without that, being taught that people died in wars 80 years ago (and longer, of course) is a fairly abstract concept at that age.

What cause his nightmares op?

Sorry. I answered too soon.
It's very clear op that your own health issues are tied up with your son's reactions.

You sound defensive and angry.

Your op states that 4/5 year olds shouldn't be learning about this, but what you mean is that your child shouldn't learn about this because he's struggling with your disability.

I'm sorry you're going through what sound like awful health issues,

Your son clearly needs support with this and it sounds like that's not being managed.

An entire and very important teaching topic being shut down is not a valid option.

They should be taught historical facts.

Maybe they should learn about actual current issues in the world: not glorifying war from 100 years ago. The curriculum is out dated

"History instructs, and we ignore it at our peril" . . .

🤔

Remembrance is not glorification.

History is not 'outdated'.

How do you propose to teach current events without context?

Children are far more likely to be distressed by current events than historical ones.

This is SO true and most children, in my experience, enjoy history (just think why 'Horrible Histories' is so popular . . . )

History is everywhere . . . it's in the family stories and photographs that older relatives pass on to the younger generation, it's in communities, buildings, churches, memorials, cemeteries, museums, libraries & literature, National Trust properties, . . . the list is endless

Even toddlers are able to recognise that some things and people are old and they learn to understand that some things happened a very long time ago

It's really important that children learn history little by little so that they gradually put it all together to form the bigger picture. Every child needs to know their own family history and they need the bigger picture to understand current affairs. It isn't just history, it's also geography, politics, law, religion etc . . . it all fits together (e.g. the situation that's happening right now in Gaza)

Yep be interesting to see how the PP would tackle immersing children in the horrors of Gaza without a) upsetting them b) any reference to how and why the territory is disputed.

Children famously ask 'but why Mummy' they want to know how things came to be.

I’m not sure what your point is, of course, it’s subjective, are you suggesting that anything school teaches is inherently appropriate, because the school has decided to teach it?

🤣