7 and 8 year olds taught about drugs today

[Plinkyplankplonk]

My son came off the bus today and told me all about their pshe lesson today - they were asked to imagine a bag of drugs and what would be in it, to see what words they knew, then they were told how some people take drugs, so my son has informed me about needles etc.
It was a bit close to home for us as my husbands sister died last year from an overdose, we've had some sort of frank conversations with our son about what happened to her - that the school told me were too much for his age, then this today in their own lesson?!

I thought they didnt learn about things like this yet? I'm sure I didn't learn about things like this til I was 11/12

AIBU to think this is a bit much for his age?

The teacher would have been teaching from an approved scheme, I’ve taught that year group and yet you do talk about the dangers of drugs and about all drugs (good and bad ie paracetamol) also taught about the effects of alcohol and smoking in the same topic. It’s all about keep themselves safe. It would have been done in a way that is suitable for a child of that age and will go into more detail later on.

I remember being in year 5 or 6 and a girl in class brought in what she said was drugs and took them with another boy in class. It turned out to be vitamin tablets, but the boy was so scared he had a panic attack in the classroom. I remember it so vividly, so I don’t think it’s too young at all to be teaching kids about this type of stuff sadly.

They won’t have been taught about the differences between crack and smack and how to roll a joint though.
As other PPs have said they will have had a lesson where they explored what drugs are, which drugs help us, some drugs are not safe, what to do if you find a tablet on the floor or a syringe in a bush. Surely you want your child to know these things.

They were asked what names they knew etc, so cocaine, weed, smack etc was mentioned. I suppose it just made me feel a bit weird with our family stuff only happening a few months ago, my son was a bit upset and left the room for a wee bit cos it really got to him, I'm a bit gutted I wasn't told what they would be studying as they were aware of his aunt 😕

Drugs and pregnancy arent the same thing and did they teach about contraception or just teach abstinence. I remember being told about people dying from cardiac arrest from cocaine. Drugs being laced with god knows what it scared me into not doing drugs. I stand by educating kids is better then not.

At 7/8 they are getting to age when they may go to park to play without an adult. I assume it covered things like not picking needles or gas canisters up etc.

I’ve NC for this so as not to connect to my regular username as I don’t usually discuss work on here. However I’ve delivered these sessions and they’re absolutely essential to equip young people with the correct information from an early age. The curriculum is age appropriate and talks about what some children will come across outside of school. From not taking mummy or daddy’s tablets that they may find in the house, to recognising what things can cause them harm or they need to tell an adult about.
Some kids know far more than you expect.
Do you want kids finding out from their peers and being incorrectly advised (it won’t harm you my daddy does it) or do you want your kids to be informed by an experienced professional. It’s never too early to educate and it doesn’t encourage use, it’s harm minimisation.
My kids had the education at home from me as it’s my job, but I also checked out the curriculum before I chose their schools to ensure they’d get the right advice. Some school still stick their heads in the sand and pretend drugs aren’t an issue in their school. Believe me they are in all schools. It’s better to educate before they’re offered them than deal with the consequences of a lack of education. Children have taken medication and overdosed thinking they’re sweets.
Speak to the school and they can connect you to the local drug service. They can support you as a parent too.

Nah

I'd be really pissed off if my kid at that age was learning about needles??? My dad used drugs, I have family members who worked in addiction services, these are important things but no not at this age!!!

They taught about contraception. I’m not that old. They also told us how all the different drugs make you feel and the effect they have. Teachers are absolutely terrible at teaching this stuff. My dad pointing out drug addicts out and about and telling me stories of people he knew was much better.

When they did DARE in the USA they found it made kids more likely to do drugs

I wasn't happy with the descriptions of the drugs, DS was weirdly obsessive after the lesson. He has an obsessive personality and I do worry about addiction due to his extra needs and family history.
It definitely doesn't scare off all children. He had a zillion questions that I'd rather he wasn't aware of drug abuse at 9 years old.
Really interested in how you do cocaine and ketamine. Fuck off school.

I disagree strongly. There are so many needles and NOS canisters discarded in children’s playgrounds these days they need to know they’re harmful and not to pick them up. Needle stick injuries could have life long consequences.
Although tbf they’re covered lightly in the sessions I’ve run, they’re not meant to scare kids and it can if you give them too much detail. But we do ask what they know and it will come up so you have to respond.
And I repeat, education doesn’t encourage use and the gateway theory was disproven years ago. There’s so much misinformation adult need education too!

I totally agree its not a gateway and that education is important. But there is also a case for ensuring kids aren't forced to grow up too quickly. If my kid was going to the park on their own I would explain the dangers, and most of us already do with our kids "don't pick that up, it could be sharp or have germs on it". But I don't need my 7 year old knowing about crack and heroin and needles.

You can teach a child not to pick up needles without explaining intravenous drug use. I live in the city centre where drug use is very common and taught my children from dot not to pick up needles or fast gas canisters.

I was a child in the 90s in the states so had the DARE programme. Involved scare tactics and lots of videos of ‘cool kids’ daring each other to try things using slang from the 70s and 80s. ‘Just say no’. An egg cracked in a pan with a hilarious voiceover. Nothing useful - I barely recognised the drugs I was surrounded by a couple years later. Would have been far better to have an actual informative session about what drugs were out there and what they actually do to you. Our lessons were all about resisting peer pressure and tattling. Totally useless.

Crack and heroin are not on the curriculum for primary school for the reasons you state. But when questions are asked, age appropriate responses are given. They don’t contain scary details (or at least not what Ive delivered). You may educate your own children, as I did, but many parents don’t and kids are left unsupervised after school to pick up used pins when there isn’t a parent to tell them not to. Those kids need to know at school, they don’t hear at home.
IMHO, just say no is useless. Education is effective.

It does seem young but if done in an age appropriate way I'm all for it. I've been in the uncomfortable situation of having to explain drug use to a degree earlier than I would have liked. When I drive my kids to a music class in my city we have to drive down a street that's like something out of a horror movie. People folded over where they stand because of fentynal, open smoking of meth. It can seem scary if you don't know what's happening.

But there are a lot of parents who don't teach basics which is why schools have to pick up the slack. In an ideal world parents would teach there children how to stay safe and common sense but they dont.

I think being spoken to about drugs at that age is fine but I think the teachers should have told the parents first.

Trying to remember what I learned in school at age 6. I remember doing the sinking of the Titanic and the Crimean War (Florence Nightingale). Not exactly sunshine and daisies! We don't do our kids any favours by pretending the bad things don't exist.

Yeah, I can see where PPs are coming from. I know we have to make sure kids stay safe. I guess it just made me sad to think it was necessary. And I look at a 7 year old and think they should be shielded from having to know about this. But I can see that's a bit idealistic.

Precisely, things like not taking a paracetamol from a parent's bag or a pretty coloured pill you you find in the cupboard you think may be a sweetie etc.

They won't have explored deeply into illegal drugs, just what of any drugs do ypu know, some drugs can sometimes be safe to use, like painkillers etc.

All of this is on the PSHE National Curriculum, so parents can easily find out what their children are going to be learning.

If it's anything like where I am, there will be kids whose parents regularly use weed/green and probably some who inject.