Totally shocked!!! Need help please!

[danceswithdeath]

Okay so. My son goes to a private school; they do pray etc but we are not religious at home. There are obviously other parents who do not follow a religion too.

I am on a group WhatsApp with the fellow parents of my sons class (just gone into year three). Someone has just put a link for us to sign, and it is regarding not teaching our children about LGBTQ in class....

Now, I get it. Everyone has their own personal opinions. But I find this really shocking!! No one has replied expect myself, where I have asked if it was a mistake or not. They said no and to read it.

Well I really want to put something, but I'm not sure if I should... it's pissed me right off though!! I am so open with my son! He knows about a lot.

Has anyone any advice on what I could say that is calm and to the point?

I pulled my child out of nursery when at age 3 he came home and told me that his teacher said he can become a girl if he wants to. ....... I will 100% NOT let some stranger tell me son about gay/lesbian relationships at that tender age

These are not the same thing. Telling a 5 year old child that familes sometimes have two mummies or two daddies and that sometimes people love and marry someone of the same sex is in no way the same thing as telling a them they could change sex if they wanted to..The first is an accurate description of how some.people live their lives and is fine. The second is scientifically untrue .

Telling them they can dress however they like and encouraging them to question any gender sterrotypes they might develop is great. Telling them a.girl.can become a boy and vice versa is NOT the same thing as teaching them about gay relationships.

I am happy for my child.to be taught about LGB but I have serious reservations about the the way schools approach teaching about transgender issues. They often teach as fact, things that are scientific nonsense like you can change sex if you want to. I.am in not objecting on religious grounds but scientific ones.

From September 2020 it is statutory anyway. Parents can withdraw children from sex education but not relationship education. Maybe if these people had had some information growing up they wouldn't be so closed minded now.

Teacher22 exactly.
SimonJT unfortunately there's a misconception that Christians hate everything lgbt and are maniacs who are total homophobes.
That is not true. While Christians have a strong biblical view on these matters it is not the person they condemn, ever. Just like any other group Christians have a right to freedom of speech and to believe what they believe is biblical and in line w their faith. That does not make them himophobic. It makes them people w a different opinion.
You will also get massively different opinions of smacking, and a lot of other stuff that people disagree on. That's okay. We live in a fast changing world and not everyone have to be on board. There should be a space for eebryone. Christians do not spew hate speech towards lgbt communities and let them go their way and do as they please. But they also do not promote in any way, just like some people smack their kids while others won't even mention it.

I'd love to know what response you've had OP. My DCs have always known about their gay uncles, it's not a big deal.

I, on the other hand, had virtually no sex education at school (1 lesson at age 13/14 iirc) and it was never mentioned at home-lost my virginity a month after my 16th birthday.

I'm far more concerned about how accessible porn is to young children than I am them being taught about LGBT+ issues (though my brother tells me the correct acronym is QUILTBAG these days).

Primary school children are quite old enough to throw around homophobic insults in the playground IME. If they’re doing that (using phrases they absolutely didn’t learn at school) then they’re old enough for positive/factual portrayals of gay people and relationships in lessons.

@Stapelberg I must have imagined those christian demonstrators at my rugby games with their silly little placards. Then there is the daily christian preacher on the high street condemning gays to hell.

@Stapelberg I'm sure there are a lot of non-judgemental Christians about but it's incredibly naive to think there are none who don't judge the individual homosexual. A quick search on Google produces pages of images of homophobic protests by so-called Christians.

SimonJT just like the muslim who secretly don't fast during rammadan (sorry if spelling is wrong) or eating bacon or having alcohol, so there are "Christians' who are fanatics. You cannot judge all Christians/Muslims the same based on a few. Born again Christians promote love and tolerance of people but reject certain acts as sinful, just as other religions do. True Christianity preaches love.

Dance - good reply. What’s been the response?

@Stapelberg

Yes it has harmed you.

You removed your 3 year old from nursery because of it!

My friend won't send her children in when LGBT or sex Ed is being taught. She's traveller she's not not bigoted or religious it's just not the done thing in her community for children as young as hers.

Ironically she had her oldest daughter at 16, I do point this out. I've witnessed her experience shocking racism from the school ("all your kind are liars") so neither is blameless.

@MyGhastIsFlabbered QUILTBAG? This is a lot better than LGBT.

While Christians have a strong biblical view on these matters it is not the person they condemn, ever.

Of course it's not the person, you love the sinner but hate the sin - am I right? In the same way that historically Christians didn't hate anyone for being the wrong faith, or left handed, or female.

Sorry, I'm not buying that wishy-washy excuse for bigotry. You condemn an integral part of someone's personality, so yes, you do hate them, and yes, you are a bigot.

Also, don't make blanket statements that seem to imply that all Christians think as you do. Many don't, and would also think you are a bigot.

What did she reply OP?

Marypoppins...
Because I was not harmed I want the same for my son... To remain unharmed.

How lovely for you Stapleberg that you

1. had decent parents who loved you and looked after you and could be arsed to give you the birds and the bees talk. Some parents can’t e bothered with anything.
2. that you didn’t start your period until after the talk. It would have been very scary for you otherwise.
3. you never came into contact with a sexual predator. You wouldn’t have know the pants rule etc so it’s great nobody ever tried to exploit that.
4. you aren’t gay

Someone has just put a link for us to sign, and it is regarding not teaching our children about LGBTQ in class....

The petition is about giving parents the right to withdraw their children from the lessons, not about not teaching it at all.

That said, they are still homophobic twats.

I ended up telling my kids about trans people in the car last week. They are 6, 5, 3 and 1. It came up naturally from their side. I just told them that yes some people are born as boys or girls but it doesn’t feel right to them so they make a choice to present and live as the other. And that it’s of no relevance to anyone how anyone chooses to live or be so we need to treat everyone with exactly the same respect. They understood perfectly well at that simple level. I didn’t mention it but they’ve already attended the party of a 6yr old girl who was born a boy. They treated her like the girl they assumed she was which is the way it should be right on up through life.

Mary gold you are profoundly wrong in two of your statements. What assumptions to make....

I wouldn’t sign the petition if it were my DC’s school until I knew more about the teaching materials for teaching children about transgender people.

OP, you might want to search for a recent thread where people discussed the materials being sent into primary and the the presentations that trans lobby groups like Mermaids and Stonewall have produced.

They are nothing about respecting people’s choice of sexual partner and everything about reinforcing damaging stereotypes on children.

Educating that families come in all different shapes and sizes and acceptance of the "other", and that its fine to be gay is good.
Teaching that boys can become girls is actually homophobic.

And hysteria whipped up over what is taught in schools without actually examining what your school is teaching is very dangerous. It is deepening divisions in society and making all kinds of groups feel isolated and divided.

Both the religious parents who don't want their children taught too explicit material too young or that children can swap sexes. And the gay community who can feel like the acceptance they have gained in society is being threatened.

well you have replied op, i dont know why you are so shocked. it is simply a different attitude and you dont appear to need help since you replied.

@Stapelberg What on earth did they tell your son that would make him frightened? Telling him he could turn into something else if he wanted to (girl, unicorn, whatever) isn't scary, is it?

I’d have been the same as you a few years ago happyspud. But the number of referrals to U.K. gender clinics has increased by 4000% in the past few years and there’s some suggestion that it’s socially contagious like anorexia. In Sweden, girls as young as 14 are being given mastectomies. That’s permanent damage to a young person who cannot possibly understand the consequences, and now some of these young women are growing up and regretting. I think we need to tread carefully.

That said, I wouldn’t sign the petition in the OP. I don’t have a problem with parents removing their children though, should they wish to. Especially if the programme offered is something like No Outsiders, which is based on Queer Theory and does indeed tell children they can change sex. I wouldn’t remove mine, but would certainly explain the science.

Absolutely fine and appropriate to teach my DC about same sex relationships but I will not have my DC taught any science nonsense that tells them they can change biological sex.

This. I hoped that when I clicked on the petition link, it would say similar, but was very disappointed to see that it was against teaching about same-sex relationships. I'm sorry you are dealing with such bigots OP.

Your response was great. Keep your head held high and keep any further responses polite and professional. You definitely hold the moral high ground here.