Parents anger after class of 7yo shown graphic sex cartoon

[MmeLindt]

Here

According to the article, the film has been used for years and has been sold to primary schools across the country.

I found this clip and have to say that I would not be happy about my 7yo DD being shown that.

There was a prescreening for parents but the mother who complained did not attend as she trusted the school's judgement.

well, Youtube won't even let me see the clip without confirming I'm 18 years old so it seems strange that 7 year olds are being shown it!

It is pretty graphic.

I have seen it and tbh I really don't see what the problem is.
At the end of the day the onus is on parents to educate their children however with the number of teenage pregnancies on the rise it obviously became apparent to the government that parents were not doing so the government have had to step in and put the onus on schools.

The video shown is part of a Channel 4 dvd series which covers parts of body etc.Each dvd is 15 minutes long

this is what it says on their website.

Living and Growing email page print page
Genre Factual
Episodes 9 x 15 minute programmes
Rights World TV & Non-Theatric (with some restrictions)
Languages English
Resources DVD, TV

This series comprises three units of three programmes, each unit being directed at a different age group.

Unit 1 (5?7 yrs)
Young children are introduced gently to sex education through a study of topics that include our bodies, naming body parts, growing from baby to adult, differences between boys and girls, families, and relationships at home and at school.

Unit 2 (7?9 yrs)
The programmes in this unit focus on issues such as the human life cycle in the context of all living things, puberty, friendship, sexual relationships, pregnancy and the birth of a baby.

Unit 3 (9?11 yrs)
This unit prepares children to face puberty and adolescence with confidence. The final programme considers media images of sex and adult relationships, both opposite and same-sex. It deals with questions that children of this age may want to ask relating to such issues as teenage pregnancy.

There is a difference between informing and educating DC about where babies come from and the rather graphic film that shows a couple having sex.

Is it necessary for 7yos to see a film of the couple chasing each other around a bed, then having intercourse? Or am I just being prudish?

Mme, I can see it from both side tbh.

If you tell someone about something or show them in this manner it stops it being such a taboo subject iyswim?

Children younger and younger are having sex and becoming parents. Now while i see this can be deemed too graphic for children of this age there was a pre-screening for the parents of the children involved and the parents have the choice to opt out.

So if a parent see's it and allows their child to then see it it is up to them.

The woman in question did not go to the prescreening and then kicked off. If she was that concerned she should have taken time out to go and watch it.

Better than the rabbits we go to watch at a similar age.

I am of course basing my opinion on this on my child and our life.

We live in a village in Switzerland, a very idyllic and protected upbringing for our DC.

Stopping children having sex from a young age, or protecting them from teenage pregnancy/STDs is not a big concern here atm.

Yes, the woman in question is silly to complain since she did not make the effort to go and see the film before she allowed her DD to watch it.

Some parents seem to equate this with porn!
No wonder British kids have such a messed up attitude to sex and experiment at a young age.

I can't see anything wrong with it. I think it's truthful, tasteful done and certainly better than the very dry (for want of a better word) sex education I had.

The early sex education starts, the better IMO. It certainly, it's less embarassing for all concerned.

I'd be very happy for my DC to seer this film.

The report says the children are mimicking the acts in the dvd and of course no child talks about sex at this age otherwise do they?

of course they do just in a very uninformed way. I know which i would prefer as the PP said the earlier S.E starts the better!!

Maybe we will have less 11 yr olds wanting/having sex.

I watched all of Living and Growing when I was a governor at my children's school, and found it completely age-appropriate - so did the other governors, and we were all happy for it to be shown at school. It's not pornographic ffs. Why do these busybodies not get worked up about page 3 instead?

I haven't seen it yet, am off to get YT to let me see it.

My kneejerk reaction is not that it's possibly pornographic, simply that it is not age appropriate. How can it be relevant to a 7 year old's life? How is SE in this age group going to stop kids experimenting early?Is it not likely to make them WANT to experiment early?

Anyway I will shut up until I've seen the clip.

Just goes to show haw very very silly people can be!

I'll be honest, I was slightly taken aback by it. But it's only a clip; the whole film might give a bit more context.

i'm very pro sex education and was certainly watching something not a bit like this on schools telly when I was off with a stomach bug, aged around 8. By the time I was 11 I was already being exposed to pornography simply because it was all around - in people's houses, in rubbish bins, in newsagents - and that was in 1980. You need to start forming positive and healthy attitudes to sex early. Though I do hope the clip has a bit more context about the implications of sex, different views about appropriateness etc. I liked all the emphasis on happiness though.

'not a bit like this' should read 'not unlike this'

sigh

Why do 7 yo need to know about adult sex?
Are we going to show them car driving videos and say "of course, this is something you can't do for another 10 years"

I would have though discussions about physical boundaries, confidence to protest if another child or an adult touches you where you don't want.
What is a 7yo going to do with this information?

Otherwise, some children may some out thinking "oh, that's what I have to end up doing" with no moral or emotional context.

I await "Peppa Pig goes to the STD clinic" with interest.

I would definitely not want my 8 year old DS seeing that yet.

Schools have been giving sex education to younger and younger children and what is happening? Children are become sexually aware and active earlier and earlier. Doesn't seem to be having the desired affect in my view.

On Mumsnet homepage there is a campaign directed at retailers to stop them promoting products that sexualise children as young as 7.

How ironic is that?

LOL Miggsie at Peppa Pig - reminds me slightly of the Armstrong and Miller 'Blue peter apology' sketches

I suppose I see what you mean. I think if I'm offered the opportunity I will go and see the whole thing. I wonder what they do at ds's school?? [rings mate with child 2 years further on]

Mumonthenet I feel there's a difference between children knowing that sex is something that grownup people do that can result in a baby, and children wearing a t-shirt saying 'Babe in Training' or whatever.

Miggsie that's a daft analogy

in fact you have unwittingly stomped on your own argument

there is no need to show children videos of people driving cars - they see it all the time, so it's already normalised and not exotic for them when they come of age to learn to do it themselves

people don't whisper and giggle about driving, nor do they get on thei high horses about their children witnessing adults driving

early sex education demystifies the act of intercourse and can be taught alongside values of respect, consent and appropriateness - how can that be a bad thing?

Sexualising and educating are two very different things.

And it's in in no way comparable to showing them driving cartoons. The vast majority of children will not have the opportunity to drive before the legal age. Children are having sex before the legal age and it is resulting in myriad problems.

It's difficult to judge from that snapshot as it's part of a longer film.

I only have a 2yr old but she knows how babies are made. Projecting forward, by 7 I would imagine that I wouldn't have a problem with that as part of a wider education.

What is it that people object to? Is it the images or level of education?

Because if you decrease the factual information, children will ask questions anyway and not all of the same people and not all will get the same response. Or if you aren't straightforward and matter of fact about it, it's pretty astounding the incorrect conclusions a 7yr old mind would jump to. You do have to offer information that is fully accurate, yet simple and age appropriate. What would people suggest as the alternative to this video? Or is the dialogue okay but the images aren't?

No one has said that it is pornography.

I have no objection to children being told that babies are made when two people love each other and the man's sperm meets with the woman's egg etc

I do feel that showing a film depicting how it is done is different to an explanation.

And I think that 7yo is too young for this. My DD is almost 8yo and I have not spoken to her about sex or how babies are made as she has never asked me.

I am pretty sure that she is not going to be pregnant at 12yo.

When the time comes, I will tell her the basics and let her lead the way on what she needs to know.

"On Mumsnet homepage there is a campaign directed at retailers to stop them promoting products that sexualise children as young as 7.How ironic is that?"

mumonthenet they are completely different things. Giving the children all the facts about sex and bombarding them with products and advertising encouraging them to be sexy* are not the same things.

I've read that the younger children receive a frank sex education; the more likely they are to wait until they are older to have sex.

• When I say be sexy I dont mean simply being a sexual being, which all humans, inclusding children are. I mean the commercial porn aesthetic where girls' underwear depicts cherries and the slogan "bite me" and mini pole dancing kits are sold on high streets.

SOH
That is it.

It is the images. Not the information.

It makes me uncomfortable to think of my 7yo DD seeing that.