Okay, Yr 1 is this the norm???

[bubblerock]

Don't usually post on AIBU but wanted a little feedback on this. My DS2 age 5 came home today with a piece of 'art' he had made, it was a sharp wooden skewer with 7 cocktail sticks stuck to it with blu tac - I have no idea what it is supposed to be but it just screamed 'an accident waiting to happen' to me!! If we have cocktail sticks at home I always take them off him as they are not safe so why would school send him home with them??

I love the school he is at and I am definitly not over protective at all but this just seemed really bizarre to me - what if one of his classmates took his bookbag into his bedroom without the parent knowing these sharp things were in them??

Should I speak to head tomorrow? (I have a good relationship with them) or am I missing something and being UR?

Ha ha ha! Of course there's not a problem with 5 yr olds playing with cocktail sticks. They are an integral part of my dd's playdough kit, and have been since she was 3 years old.

Some of the best nurseries I have visited have areas where children can play with real hammers, nails & wood etc. They are taught how to use them safely. Children need to learn how to handle resources safely. We do our children no favours keeping them away from all sharp objects until they have gone through puberty!

Sorry bubblerock - but yes, you are being over protective.

i have 3 son's ages 5 ,3 and nearly 2 but what does that matter i have only said my view about this just like everyone else.

Be light tinkerbelle, it was a fun and lighthearted, slightly tounge in cheek observation - as I said - not a dig

Okay I do appreciate all comments and was really 50/50 on this one - I wouldn't be worried if he was supervised, actually, thinking about it I'm probably more worried about his 11 yr old brother getting hold of them - he's such a klutz he'd probably tread on one!

can i please just point out that not every family with more than one child protects the first born

my 5 year old has ODD

my 3 year old is being assessed for autism

my nearly 2 year old is still in 6-12 month clothes

we have to watch everything they do as ds3 is dinky and ds1 is far too hyper/rough and ds2 just plays by himself

sorry but i just wanted to point out we do not over protect our oldest son if anything he gets left out more as we have to see to our other son's a bit more if you get what i mean
and reading that it doesnt sound right but i hope you get what i mean

Don't stress about 5 year olds and cocktail sticks, it is no big deal at all

have just read all this again and i am so sorry i sound like a right bitch

have got a lot on at the moment just normal stuff like wishing i had a money tree! lol

i am really sorry for getting heated about it all

btw if anyone finds a money tree before me send me some seeds

Aww, Tink, don't worry everyone is different as you can see by this thread, and every child is different too, I'm sure many 5 year olds would be fine with sharp objects whereas others would be pretty scary!! lol, as I said before, I really am not over protective but it just seemed a bit of a strange thing to find in DS's bookbag, especially the way health and safety is taken these days - maybe I should be pleased at the relaxed approach, although, I'm not sure I even played with cocktail sticks in the 70's (christ, how old does that sound????)!

lol i never played with anything like that it was always lolly sticks or pipe cleaners

i wouldn't trust my 5 yr old son with them he would be scratching everything and putting them in his mouth ,poking his brother's ,poking the cat and dog and oh my days it wouldn't be worth the extra stress honestly lol

Sounds like it tinkerbell! Don't worry, I am queen... or maybe even King of taking someones point and running with it!

Let me know if you get one tinkerbell - share an share alike

lol we do have the allotments behind us i shall send hubby with torch and balaclava over the fence tonight to try and find one if i do i shall send some seeds lol

DS1 came home with some "woodwork" he's done in YR1 with nails hammered into a piece of wood (actually DS2 came home with one of those from nursery!)

They were dangerous and immidiately removed from use.......as there were threats of hitting each other with the bloody things!

Oh god - just had visions of our kitten with a cocktail stick up it's bum! It's not even that far from being a possibility! lol

Yep - money tree would come in handy here too!

Seeds are fine, seedlings will fruit quicker though...am I asking too much now?

ALFW, see dd would have been fine with that... of course she would have hit ds with it once or twice... but then it would have taught him to run faster wouldn't it?

I have no idea where that W came form, clearly I meant ALFA not ALFW!

lmao oh dont we have just got a kitten and our youngest likes to 'cuggle' it picking dasie up by her tummy nearly squeezing the poor thing, our 5 year old though on the first day of getting her he was saying 'yeh lets catch the cat and put her in the dog cage' !! i quickly took him upstairs to do puzzles and read books lol

( lucy only goes into cage when front door is open as we live on a busy main road and she will shoot out or when we have people round for the first 10 minutes or she is too hyper) sorry i have been 'told off' for having a dog cage before lol

some 5 year old's do not understand the whole safely thing and therefore can be dangerous

take my 5 year old for example i would not trust him only because he does not understand the safety of things and the school are behind me on that one lol

it depends on the child i think if you use cocktail sticks at home (serve up a dish which uses cocktail sticks) then they will know the safely of them iykwim

Cat, honestly it was a genuine question, not tongue in cheek - I really thought it seemed a bit of a strange thing to send home and wanted others opinions, of course my DS's encounter sharp objects daily but I don't tend to encourage it, like, hey here are some knives, go have fun! I'm not ignoring anyone and appreciate the pov - which is why I asked on here but I'm off to bed (in my padded room with no sharp objects lol!)

I think that what the OP was saying (correct me if I'm wrong bubblerock), is that as long as the children are supervised at school, using cocktail sticks to make a picture is not a big issue. However, allowing the child to put the picture in their bag to bring home is another story (at least without warning the parents that there was a picture made from cocktail sticks in his bag & to mind herself when getting it out )