Explicit Sex Ed material for 5 years olds!!!

[vintageteacups]

sex ed for 5 years olds

I think this is extremely wrong on so many levels. Would you seriously like your 5 yr olds to be told about sex like this???

This si what the curriculum says it appropriate for 3-6 year olds. It's come out funny because I c and P - I know that people in a hurry - and particularly people who have made up their minds already-don't bother with links.

"

Ages 3-6

At this age children are interested in the differences between boys and girls, naming body parts, where babies come from, and friends and family. What areas of the body are private and should not be touched and who they can talk to if they are worried are also important.

Questions to help you understand what children want to learn about are listed in themes below.

Relationships

* Who is in my family?
* How are other families similar or different to mine?
* What does my family do for me?
* What do I like about my friend?
* What does my friend like about me?
* What can other people do to make me feel good?
* Who do I look after?
* Why shouldn?t I tease other people?

My body

* Why are girls? and boys? bodies different?
* What do we call the different parts of girls? and boys? bodies?

Life cycles

* Where do babies come from?
* How much have I changed since I was a baby?
* How are other children similar and different to me?

Keeping safe & looking after myself

* Which parts of my body are private?
* When is it OK to let someone touch me?
* How can I say ?no? if I don?t want someone to touch me?
* Who should I tell if someone wants to touch my private parts?

People who help me

* Who can I ask if I need to know something?
* Who can I go to if I am worried about something?

N

I've just been to the HIT UK site. You can't see the contents of the packs from there, nor whether there are age guidelines within it, but the one called: "Sex and Relationships" is for KS 1&2.

But surely primary school teachers devise suitable curricula from a range of resources?

Can I ask those of you who are shocked what exactly you think would happen if your 5 year old was shown this stuff?

Do you think they'd be afraid?
Do you think they'd be revolted?
Do you think they'd want to have sex?
Do you think they'd ask you questions that you don't want to answer?

I'd much rather that ds found out about this sort of thing in a sensible and factual way. He'll almost certainly know everything that's mentioned in that article by early primary, with the probable exception of prostitution, either from me, dh or the school.

Exactly meditrina - "sex and relationships - the key bit that is missing from the DM article is that it's about relationships too - and as seeker has kindly copied and pasted above all of that seems pretty reasonable to me.

Norman Wells, of the Family Education Trust:
?Introducing sex education at an early age runs the risk of breaking down children?s natural sense of reserve. Far from being a hindrance, children?s natural inhibitions and sense of modesty in talking about sexual matters are healthy and provide a necessary safeguard against both sexual abuse and casual attitudes towards sexual intimacy later on.?

So why do the Netherlands have such a low rate of teenage pregnancy and one of the highest ages at first experience of intercourse in Europe when they are very open about sex and relationships from a very young age?

Teachers do not use textbooks verbatim in normal lessons anyway(you can't afford whole class sets usually for a start), and those textbooks say they are suitable for FIVE TO ELEVEN year olds - now let me guess, given that teachers are professional educators, maybe they will suitable cherry pick elements of those book that are most age appropriate and use them as a starting point for a discussion in a lesson?

'Sex education' covers everything from general ideas about family and personal relationships to medically detailed advice about STIs. In the same way 'mathematics' covers everything from addition to calculus - and you wouldn't start a class of Primary Ones off on trigonometry, would you?!

So clearly, the more 'technical' elements of those books are for the older end of the age spectrum - how many 5 year olds do you know will be able to spell orgasm or erection for goodness sake?!

A total non-story IMO.

Look at the language used in that leaflet - the length of sentences, their grammatical complexity, the number of multi-syllabic words. It's perfectly obvious that it's not aimed at 5 year olds, but at the top end of the primary age-range.

If you feel in need of a bit of moral outrage of a morning, there are plenty of worse things going on in the world.

camper - I was just thinking that about the language and sentences. No WAY would the average 5yr old be able to get to grips with that in any shape or form - obviously that park of the resource pack is aimed at older primary school children.

I would utterly dispute that children have a natural sense of reserve. That's a totally learnt response.

A child who has been told "don't touch down there it's dirty", "we don't talk about that", who never sees their parents naked etc etc will have a completely different attitude to a child from a family with a more relaxed attitude - not innate, learned.

In fact, I would argue that a child who was taught not to talk about their body might find it harder to report sexual abuse than a child who was comfortable talking about sex and feelings with their parents.

Fine then - forget I posted and that's the end of it.

Anyway - I've just emailed the school to ask for details of how they teach SRE in yr 4.

suzikettles: I'm not one of the "shocked", but it is worth bearing in mind that a common reaction in children that age is: "Yuk! What would anyone want to do THAT!"

So would you object if this sort of thing was being shown / discussed in Yr 4 vintage?

Once again, I'll go back to posting in order to support others rather than start any threads for fear of being shot down in flames once again.

vintage has given up and gone home

Which is fine, meditrina. Although I know from teacher friends that the reason they teach the "feeling yes, feeling no" lessons (about your body being your own and noone having the right to do anything you don't like, secrets etc) from quite a young age at school is that the children start to get giggly about it and less receptive the further you go up the school.

Don't be so defensive OP.

People are merely trying to help you feel less worried that your 5 year old is going to be taught about anal sex and prostitution.

It is right to discuss the subject and how it is taught.

And good that there opposing views to bounce pre conceived worries with

actually I think most of this discussion is purely academic if you have more than one child - as once the oldest child starts to learn more "in depth" stuff about sex and relationships - there's absolutely no way on earth you can keep it from the younger ones - nothing you say will stop your "newly educated and getting to grips with the facts behind his changing bdoy and raging hormones" 10yr old gleefully filling his young, and much more "innocent" 6 or 7yr old brother about it all

I tell you there are very few times I wish I had a man around the house.............but boy when those discussions come up do I sometimes wish I did

I think if the material was for 5 years olds I might thinks it was a bit much - but its not its for 7+ - in which case fine - how misleading

And this made me laugh:
Introducing sex education at an early age runs the risk of breaking down children?s natural sense of reserve

• what reserve would that be then!!

mind though we had "personal and social education" (in cluding sex ed) at the top end of Middle School it was pretty vague and nondescript - girls and boys were seperated girls told about periods (yeah I already knew that as I'd started already), and other bits about puberty for girls, boys told all the "boy bits" and that was it.

Most of my "sex ed" came from "More!" and it's "position of the week" and "agony aunt" type pages.........I know which I'd prefer for my children and it's definitely what's shown in the DM article............

"- what reserve would that be then!!"

that would be the reserve my DS3 (3) showed the other day when his "pee pee was being naughty"...........as it was "sticking out so he couldn't put his pants on"........

cue standing in the middle of the living room half naked examining said "pee pee" for several minutes until it "stopped being naughty"

Teenage pregancy rate is falling www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12537912

You're so passive/aggressive vintage- oh, I don't like your reasoned factual answers so I'm not going to start anymore threads. get a grip.

Netherlands have sex ed from an early age, and have v low teenage parent rates. Ditto denmark, germany etc.

Information is power, helping children know what is happening to their bodies, to understand it and not live in ignorance surely is all for the good?

My 5yo knows how babies are made- she doesn't know how stuff happens, but she knows the biological facts. We answer questions as she asks them. The curriculum pasted above seems just right to me.

I don't think people saying "I think reading the Daily Mail may have goven you the wrong idea about how RE works in schools - here's what really happens" can under any circumstances be described as "flaming"!

It's so bloody annoying when someone trots out "Netherlands have sex ed from age foetus and have lower teen pregnancy rates - QED" Actually not QED.

In the Netherlands, despite laid-back attitudes to sex, it is very much frowned upon to get pregnant as a teenager. Moreover you are not going to get a flat and benefits.

You may argue that early sex education promotes self-respect and empowers a maturing individual. But you can't possibly argue that lack of sex education has resulted in the high level of teenage pregnancy in recent years - that is because of a basic shift in moral attitude and the economic viability of taking such a route.

'it is very much frowned upon to get pregnant as a teenager. Moreover you are not going to get a flat and benefits. "

You aren't in this country either!