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?

what is shocking is trying to brainwash kids so young. Let them be kids. They don't need to be pushed to "identify" as anything by idiotic parents with a massive chip on their shoulder. Normal kids do not care.

Not everybody feels there's a need to start hammering the transgender issue from primary school to be fashionable, modern, and feel clever.

Good grief, that can wait, there are more important subjects to be taught.

I don't want my kids to waste school hours learning about this bullshit. Families are different, people are different. Done, that's 10 seconds, they live in London, they see different every day. No need for a special class about it.

but I will not have my DC taught any science nonsense that tells them they can change biological sex.

agree!

I don't want to teach them about people who believe in complete nonsense when they are still young enough to believe in the tooth fairy.

Eckhart my son is a boy. Being told that he can become a girl was scary. They're too young to understand this. He likes being a boy and being told that may not be the case one day is of course a scary concept for a young child and throw his whole existence and belief of who he is, up in the air. Shocking really.

Why has this thread been derailed into a debate about transgender, when the OP's issue was about same-sex relationships?

Completely different issues.

OP, I think your response was spot on. I think homophobia should always be called out. (And racism and other prejudice).

There is ample evidence that where sex and relationship education takes place at a young age, kids have sex later & teenage pregnancy rates are reduced. There was something on it yesterday on Radio 4.

I don't remember being taught anything about sex and relationships at school, although i suppose we must have been. I find it strange that we insist that schools are the place to learn these things. I think normalising attitudes in every day life is more helpful and that comes from parents and peer groups.

So one person from your child's class has posted a petition to withdraw their child from sex ed.

So - not from the school and not about banning.

Just don't sign it.

I am happy for my kids to be taught LGB stuff but not T. I don’t want my children taught lies like they can change sex, or told that if they like stuff associated with opposite sex stereotypes then they must be trans. Trans is not neutral; it is the sterilising, medication and mutilation of children. It also removes the safeguards and boundaries that keep children safe. Transideologues tell school that it is ok to keep secrets if the child might be trans, that suddenly it is ok for dormitories to be mix sex and parents must not be told, that a child’s distress must not be explored, that if they are unhappy stripping off in front of the opposite sex then they are bigots. I don’t want my child, or any children, to have any part of this.

Why has this thread been derailed into a debate about transgender, when the OP's issue was about same-sex relationships

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

Because it is not just about LGB but also TQ

I agree with @Stapelberg
I don't want my DC being taught about "trans" until at least secondary school - don't care if that's bigoted etc

@danceswithdeath excellent reply!

I could dig out an excellent sermon my vicar gave on this theme (around 1/3 of our congregation are gay) it talked about everyone being gods children and that ancient texts cannot be taken at face value (mixed fibres, not eating dairy and meat in a meal and the world being 6000 years old). We are particularly liberal and flew the rainbow flag for pride, but bigots putting this sort of thing out give proper Christians who believe in God's love trumping all a bad name.

Trans issues have been raised because it's relevant to why a number of people have signed the petition. It's not bigoted to object to an anti science, misogynistic ideology.

@Happyspud I'm intrigued as to how your children treated a 6 year old "as a girl"?

I'm intrigued as to how your children treated a 6 year old "as a girl"?

Me too.

It’s very telling that nobody else has replied. I suspect they are all and that someone would have said such an unpleasant thing on a chat about school.
Well done dances for sticking your head above the parapet.

I don’t think you are the one who will be given the wide berth, somehow!

OP - the new sex ed guidelines for schools are good. Schools must have a policy about teaching sex and relationships education and parents must be consulted with about it. Schools should share resources with parents and IF they use any outside groups, must check their credentials and should tell parents about them.
Parents are right to be concerned given some of the awful materials / training sessions that various groups have tried to offering to schools about transgender issues. BUT the new guidelines are clear that LGBT issues should not be taught as one off lessons but integrated into topics in an age appropriate way.
Of course children need to be taught about different families and sexualities etc. It needs to be balanced and age appropriate and parents should get involved in supporting schools with their policy.

Many gay and lesbian people have children too. No one who thinks children must be “protected” can ever answer my question about when my wife and I should explain to our children about same sex relationships.., oh and by the way my kids will be telling your kids about their two mummies anyway, sorry. Thanks for making a stand, OP.

lemonscented that's how I would like my dcs to learn. From life around them rather than school.

Saying that religion is by nature homophobic ans sexist is just as bigoted as the people starting the petition.

While I totally agree that this is just homophobic nonsense and these people seriously need to get a grip, just like you can remove a child from religious aspects, like praying they should be allowed to remove their children. I think its a massive mistake personally.

My DD is 8 and is actually really excited that she can marry anyone who shes loves. At this age that's all she needs to know really, and that and it is totally OK she has a toy box with dinosaurs and her own wooden train set.

I'm shocked that you're shocked that at a religious school there would be parents signing petitions against LGBT human rights teaching.

Start a petition to ensure they have that teaching. That would send a stronger message.

It’s a myth that the countries with early sex education have the lowest teenage pregnancy rates. Globally the lowest are North and South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Burundi. None of these have early sex education but all have strong social disapproval of unmarried pregnancy and the risk of strong parental sanctions.

Some European countries have sex education and lower teen pregnancy rates. That is probably less to do with comprehensive sex education and more to do with socioeconomic factors. Girls living in poverty are more likely to get pregnant at a very young age.

Personally, I think it’s a parental responsibility to educate children about sex from birth, in an informal and age appropriate way. That includes that same sex couples exist and that it’s nice they love each other as that love is the most important thing. I also think we have a responsibility to discuss impact of precocious sex and risks alongside the love.

Sadly, many children don’t get that from parents and they do need schools to teach it but it’s a minefield for teachers.

This is ridiculous, if they are out in the world at all they will see same sex couples and there may even be kids with same sex parents in their school.
Surely it's best for everyone if we normalise this and banning the subject from schools is definitely not the way to do this.
My almost 3yo already knows some people have two mummy's as we know a couple of same sex couples and she doesn't think it's unusual, so if a child so young can accept this for being normal then why shouldn't an older child be taught about this?

I'm interested to know, those of you who feel their kids shouldn't know about same sex relationships at a young age, do you never encounter gay people?! The area I live in isn't particularly diverse but there are gay parents in my kids school. When they've asked me why x has 2 mummies, I've simply told them that people of the same sex can get married and have kids etc. What would you have done? Refused to talk about it? Lie?

Objecting to kids learning that it’s ok to love anyone they please, is bigotry.
Objecting to, eg ‘No Outsiders’, material which tells children they can change sex and that if they don’t conform to gender stereotypes they may be ‘in the wrong body’, is safeguarding. op, maybe ask to look at the scheme your school is using..?

they are Woolworths Christians. Only happy when they can pick n mix the passages to suit them.

Love it!

How on earth is teaching children they can change sex homophobic? That makes no sense at all to me.