In Yr2 kids same sex relationships lessons

[yasminluv]

Hi
In Year 2 they have a day where kids learn about samesex relationships
It’s after Easter apperantly is that nationally and is every school different

If this to happen How can I as a parent address this with the teacher the fact that I don’t want him to participate

[Redhead17]

I come from a very catholic family and when my cousin came out as gay literally everyone wanted to disown him, there are worse things he could be, I told them all to get a grip and respect him it doesn’t change him.

This attitude fucks me off they were all horrified and I was delighted that no matter how much they tried to tell him growing up men and women only my son he came out on a big old rainbow riding a unicorn sprinkling the gay all round the village.

They now accept it even if the church frowns on it all.

I’m atheist by the way.

Kids know this stuff anyway they aren’t like the older generation things are much more out there now a days even my kids surprise me with things they say or know.

[headinhands]

parents are losing the right to be the main moral educators of their children.

As I said previously deciding that being gay is wrong is not a moral position in that you haven't arrived there by thinking about what actions harm people. You've arrived by what you think god says. That's obedience and didn't require any 'weighing up' process.

In that sense you're not educating your child about morals when it comes to being gay. You're just saying 'nope'. And that's all you can say because frankly if I pressed you on why being gay is wrong ALL you can come back to is god. You won't be able to use any reasoning or defence on why god thinks it's wrong.

[Beanteam]

Just because someone has different beliefs I'm ok that they can believe what they want as long as they follow UK Law. The attitude to people who believe differently is pretty scary on these threads.

Live and let live. It's like being a Tory, no one would admit it on MN. Thinking that everyone agrees with liberal views is a bit naive. Looking on Google nearly 3 million people are muslim in the uk and there were 26 million baptised into the Catholic Church in 2010. No doubt there a few or them left. Some of them must follow the church' doctrine.

[HarveySchlumpfenburger]

I'm sure some Catholics do follow church doctorine. Suspect that many in the UK don't on this point though.

[headinhands]

I'm ok that they can believe what they want as long as they follow UK Law.

They can think what they want in their own head yes. But they tell their children it's wrong to be gay. And some of those children are gay so it's not a harmless belief. Live and let live is fine if you're not potentially screwing your child up.

[Qvar]

Holy Crap tertullian, did you get a Masters in pomposity?

[Loveache]

'We would deal humanely with the sadness of the few who choose the non-family life'
Wow @tertullian. Just wow. One of your kids could be gay, have you thought about that?

There's no harm whatsoever in kids learning that not all families are nuclear. I very much doubt they're discussing the best lesbian sex positions for mutual orgasm.

[Ragusa]

@tertullian what the what now?!

Sadness of non-family life? No need of mumsnet?? If you teach your children that you might as well go the whole hog and teach em the earth is flat. Because, y'know, some of The Gays are quite happy and even have families. So what you say is factually incorrect. Unless you live in the kind of society where The Gays are stoned to death.

[WiggyPig]

PMSL at tertullian. Great big lezzer here, happily cohabiting with my female partner, delighting in every day we spend raising our lovely daughter.

The whole "gays be sad because childless" trope is so 1975.

[HarveySchlumpfenburger]

Wow. That post is quite something. I’m not sure which is my favourite part.

[headinhands]

This is why children need to go to school so that their parents aren't the only source of information.

[beingsunny]

I'm not sure what the issue is?
My 5 yo has just started kindy last week and I went to a meet the teacher night last night and they had all the parents of the class introduce themselves and there were a couple who are both mummies.

This is relevant as they are doing a project on families and family history, isn't it better that our children know that families all look different?

[Ragusa]

It is half term. D- for essay demonstrating polemicism.

[headinhands]

All children are brought into the world by a mummy and daddy, their natural protectors and nurturers.

Parents have hurt/raped and murdered their own children so there's no 'natural protection' factor that we can rely on.

Children thrive when they have loving and supportive adults regardless of what genitals or sexual orientation they posses.

[Vickster99]

I'm not sure a 7year old has clear concepts of the different types of love and relationships between e.g. friendships, boyfriend-girlfriend, parents, parent-child etc etc. as a frame of reference.

Exactly this. My 7 year old asked me recently what it meant if someone was gay and I tried to explain but she seemed confused by different types of love. In the end I said, "you know the way so and so at scholl has two mummies" and she went " Oh ok" :)

[millimat]

I've only just seen this and am amazed at responses to OP.
My DS is 10. There are no same sex relationships in his class. I'm a teacher and in my school - not a church school - they're is one as from September. So I'm amazed how many people think children will have come across this.
Last autumn, I had to explain to my son about susan on strictly because he didn't understand why she was married to a woman. He's 10 and a well educated child.
OP I'm sorry there's been such negativity towards you. I totally understand where you are coming from.

[50sQueen]

If she doesn't want her son to have the lessons the that's her choice it doesn't make her homophobic. She has the right to decide when her child is educated about certain things.

[ChesterBelloc]

"Religious people have a right to live and believe as they choose, as you do you, the key here is accepting different views and not forcing what you believe is right or wrong on anyone else."

No-one else see the irony of that statement..? Hundred of posters lining up to to insult the OP, call her names, and INSIST that she does not dissent from the current prevailing liberal mainstream view. Doesn't sound to me as if her 'different views' are being accepted, at all.

Same-sex relationships are legal in this country, though they are certainly not statistically 'commonplace', as someone up-thread stated. That should be the beginning and end of the curriculum on this subject, at this age.

[ChesterBelloc]

"homophobia
NOUN

mass noun
Dislike of or prejudice against homosexual people

Hope that helps clear things up."

BIWI - nothing the OP has said has expressed dislike of or prejudice against homosexual people.

I do wish that people were not quite so free to sling those kinds of insults at anyone who doesn't 100% toe the party line. Puts me in mind of the whole trans situation.

[ChesterBelloc]

"It is legal for men and women to marry people of the same sex. Whether you/your religion likes it or not. And your child should grow up knowing that this is the case."

Fine, no dispute about that (though at what age is another question)

"@yasminluv - it doesn't matter what religion you belong to or were referring to. Teaching that homosexuality is wrong, is wrong. And if you want to keep following that teaching, by removing your child from lessons, then I'm sorry but that makes you homophobic."

Nope.

Teaching that homosexuality is 'right' involves a value judgement, in exactly the same way as teaching that it's 'wrong' does. Both positions are subjective.

You are conflating teaching the legal situation with also promoting homosexuality as a 'moral positive'. One can do the former without also doing the latter.

[bonbonours]

As so many other people have said, there is no reason to make a big deal about this for kids. My kids have been aware of same sex relationships as long as opposite sex ones. Making it something you need to talk about separately or specifically, or hide from them until they are older just promotes the idea that same sex relationships are wrong or not normal, which in this day and age is both ridiculous and harmful.

Kids don't judge or think things are 'wrong' unless they are taught that by adults. They know that grown ups love each other, sometimes have kids, get married. Without prejudice from adults they accept what they see, for example that people can marry who they like, and some families have two mums, two dads etc. If your kids don't have contact with any same sex families or relationships that is more of a reason to introduce them to this possibility as another normal thing that exists in the world.
If you lived in a very white area, would you try to pretend black people don't exist because you would rather they didn't learn about 'that' until they are older? If that sounds ridiculous and racist then you should realise that saying that about same sex relationships is just as offensive.

[catkind]

I don't think anyone's suggesting teaching it as morally anything to be gay, just that it exists. I don't think they teach heterosexual relationships as a moral positive either really? Adult relationships are more just part of the furniture when you're 6. Some kids have a mum and a dad, some just have a mum or just a dad, some have two mums or two dads. Perfectly normal sort of thing to come up when they talk about families in year 1. You make sure that children are aware of the full diversity of humans out there. Just like you make sure they're aware that disabled people exist and people with other skin colours, even if it happens that the school don't have any.

I think the mistake here is in the school informing parents at all. Makes out it's a big deal. It's not RS, it's not actually something parents have any right to withdraw kids from. It appears that school correctly surmised that some families would have avoided mention of it so wanted to give a heads up there might be questions.

[catkind]

X post bonbon, looks like we're thinking along similar lines :)