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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Shocked by my 5 yr old ds

21 replies

aldiconvert · 29/11/2013 21:18

My lovely 5 yr old ds casually said in response to " how was school today ?" ... " well, I didn't kiss fleur today , she wanted to kiss me but I have got rid of her now ..... I like Ella ...."
So wrong on so many levels ....
The ' got rid' bit has upset me the most ....
Please give me some wise words to have the right conversation with him about this please .... I need to get it right now whilst he is young ! X

OP posts:
Cluffyflump · 29/11/2013 21:48

I can't see the harm in it Confused
He's only 5. It's not like Fleur is his DP.

JaquelineHyde · 29/11/2013 21:55

I don't understand the problem?

Someone wanted to kiss him, he didn't want to kiss her, so he didn't and as a result of that he got rid of her.

He likes a girl called Ella.

Please explain the problem...

SatinSandals · 29/11/2013 21:58

I wouldn't take it seriously. When he gets older he will have a wider vocabulary- at the moment he used 'get rid of' in a different way than an adult would.

TondelayoSchwarzkopf · 29/11/2013 22:04

If that's the worst your 5 year old DS comes out with...it's like living with the Taliban with mine. I consider it a major triumph when he eventually concedes that the Playmobil Princess CAN hold a weapon when we're playing Knights and Cestles.

You just have to keep repeating and repeating and repeating the message and correcting him whenever he comes out with sexist bullshit. It will stick. It just may take another 10-15 years.

ThisIsMyRealName · 29/11/2013 22:05

Maybe just say "I hope you weren't nasty to Fleur when you said you didn't want to kiss her and she wasn't too upset."

I wouldn't worry about it too much though. Chances are Fleur hasn't even noticed Grin

aldiconvert · 30/11/2013 09:35

Thanks everyone ...
Satin and cluffy.. I am not really taking it too seriously as I am sure it is all innocent etc and he does not really understand what he is saying and he is a gorgeous little 5 yr old ( I have 4 boys and he is the most sensitive and kind : prob why it shocked me coming from him !)
However Jacqueline .. The problem is that I am upset horrible phrases like 'got rid' of someone have somehow reached him ! He has not heard that at home ! I know he does not really understand it but i feel I still need to challenge this sexist bullshit now like tonde says... I don't want him growing up into the type of man that this phrase implies .... Shagging around and not giving a shit about women ... No respect for them or feelings ...
Thisismyrealname: thanks ! That is exactly how I handled it so I feel better I have done the right thing and going back to tonde I think since I have 4 young boys this is going to be the beginning of challenging sexist bill shit for the next 20 years or rest of my life !!! Wish me luck and give me strength !!!!!

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aldiconvert · 30/11/2013 09:36

And laughing at Taliban comment btw.... We have similar wars over not having the pink plate at meal times ....

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MelanieRavenswood · 30/11/2013 09:44

Hey aldi, there is hope. Ds has been very much like this, but he is 7 now and it is getting much better. He was heard to say the other day that it wasn't fair that Dr Who is always a man and that girls should get a turn. He has even had the pink cup once or twice without complaining. I am hopeful for the future!

TheDoctrineOfWho · 30/11/2013 11:11

He might have heard got rid of in the context of tidying up the classroom cupboard or similar.

TondelayoSchwarzkopf · 30/11/2013 13:11

DS used the phrase 'screaming like a girl' today Hmm Sad - luckily his Dad was straight on it. Smile

aldiconvert · 30/11/2013 15:29

Good to hear when dads are on the case tonde ...... We need a lot more of that I think !

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specialsubject · 01/12/2013 12:05

if 'got rid of' is the worst he comes out with you'll be doing well...

rather than the sexism, the message to get across is the one about being nice to people.

BertieBowtiesAreCool · 01/12/2013 12:18

Honestly, relax - he's saying immature things that he hasn't thought about for a millisecond - because he's five!

True, if he was fifteen and saying these things, then worry. But at five? Mine talks about killing people - he thinks they just get up and carry on walking like in a computer game. I am not in the least bit worried that he actually has murderous tendencies because when I look at his personality in total, he is happy, friendly, and wants everyone to join in. He doesn't exclude or hurt people, which indicates to me that the talk about "killing" is just a game to him. He's been asking lots of questions about what happens when someone dies as well so I think it's part of figuring out life for them.

"Get rid of" he could have heard in the context of old food being thrown away, clothes he has outgrown, unwanted components in a game (lego pieces not needed for his model, for example), "getting rid" of a charity chugger or door to door salesman - it's really not literal. He just means that he didn't want to play that game with her and he wanted her to leave him alone - absolutely nothing to do with dumping her because to him the idea of kissing is nothing about dating or love or relationships in that way, he just won't have the concept of it. Instead of making it into a gender-related discussion (at his age that's just another big marker for "girls and boys are different species" anyway which you don't want to encourage) it could be helpful to talk about nice/kind ways of asking somebody to stop doing something which is bothering you and how to deal with it if they won't stop.

I think it could just have easily been "Tom kept putting sand down my back and I didn't want him to but I got rid of him, I played with Ben instead, he doesn't put sand in people's clothes."

It doesn't mean he's taken Tom's head off with a spade and buried him in the sandpit Grin it just means he managed to persuade him to leave him alone, or he got away, and went to play with somebody else instead.

JaquelineHyde · 01/12/2013 13:31

Oh my goodness so now a 5yr old boy saying they got rid of a girl means that they will grow up to fuck around and treat women like shit?

So if a girl had said she got rid of a boy who kept trying to pressure her in to kissing him would you be worrying that she would grow up to treat men like shit?

If this was my son I would be quite happy that he hadn't bowed to peer pressure and kissed the girl. Instead he said no, stood his ground and then got rid of the girl that was trying to make him kiss her.

This really is quite ridiculous!

BertieBowtiesAreCool · 01/12/2013 14:08

Jacqueline, be fair. We often have fears about a particular behaviour that when written down look totally ridiculous.

BuffytheElfSquisher · 02/12/2013 09:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BarbarianMum · 02/12/2013 13:43

The important thing is that he was able to say "no" when being offered physical affection he didn't want. Don't let that basic right get lost in the mix of trying to make X, Y or Z feel happy.

BarbarianMum · 02/12/2013 13:46

Ahh - posted too soon. Was going to go on to say that the first step in learning to respect other people is to learn to respect yourself. At 5, I think just being able to say no is enough - he can learn to couch it gently as he gets older.

aldiconvert · 05/12/2013 17:35

.... Just to clarify ....
Where we are from ( Lancashire uk) the expression 'to get rid of' in this context does in fact mean 'to fire off' 'chuck' 'bin' as derogatory term to ending relationship .... Mans the tone in which he said it with confirmed this disrespectful behaviour. ...
Whilst I certainly am pleased he is not feeling pressured to do things he does not want to... I want to teach him how to be assertive in a firm but kind way ... Even at 5 yrs old, whatever the context.

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BertieBowtiesAreCool · 05/12/2013 17:48

It means that in lots of places, but it doesn't mean that's the only meaning IYSWIM?

I think you're putting an adult interpretation onto a childish interaction, and reading a bit too much into it. Definitely okay to have a talk with him in general about boundaries and kindness, but don't make it into a bigger issue than it is at this stage, IMO.

LoveAndDeath · 05/12/2013 18:07

aw, bless him! My ds's are nice lads but certainly ds1 and ds2 at that age seemed to have a huge problem being chased by girls who wanted to kiss them when they didn't want to be kissed! He's well rid of Fleur!

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