British Parents Say Sex Ed Curriculum on Masturbation, Homosexuality Goes Too Far

Tracey - posted on 02/15/2012

Amanda we are not talking to 11 year olds about those subjects - we are talking to 6 year olds about it.

Rebecca - posted on 02/15/2012

Yeah, my friend is pregnant with her second and my almost 3 year old is asking about babies going into tummies and why she can't have a baby in her tummy like "Abba's Mommy". Really young kids pick up on things if they are the inquisitive type...others don't it depends on the kid.



The thing is, most of us here are involved parents who want to do the right thing for our kids as far as communication goes (even if we don't agree on content). However, there are a lot of parents out there who will leave this stuff alone and count on their kid to find out, however they find out - it is not discussed. Personally, I think these classes are more for those kids, who are curious and don't have an open parent to discuss this stuff with. If they have nothing, what do you think they'll do? They'll probably open that Pandora's box a bit early trying to find out just what the hell it is.

Minnie - posted on 02/15/2012

I agree that this is likely being presented in an inflammatory nature.



I remember wondering about babies and how we get here when I was only three- my mother was very matter-of-fact about it and got me a book that was quite detailed, but the pictures were created from paper cut-outs. I was fascinated by it, very age-appropriate, and it didn't leave much detail out.



My daughters have a book on reproduction that is comprised of full-page pop outs. :) They've also watched numerous birth videos. And considering that my sister is gay and in a relationship, they know about homosexuality- not as this article is presenting that it will be taught, but that a person can love someone of the same sex, and that's it.

Amanda - posted on 02/15/2012

I dont have an issue with the ages, as we have these talks in our home at these ages. The best thing I ever heard my sister in law say was "If someone had talked to me about masturbation, I would of stayed a virgin much longer" She was 13-14 when she first had sex. So I think age 10-11 is a perfectly good age to talk masturbation, and orgasms.

Tracey - posted on 02/15/2012

Jodi, I and every teacher I work with agrees with you.

Jodi - posted on 02/15/2012

Oh wow, I guess personally, I feel this should be left up to the parents. Perhaps they could offer a parent group meeting to suggest what *they* think a 4-6 year old or so on should know and tips for discussing it and leave it up to the parents to decide how to handle it. Every kid is different. At 4 years old, some kids might already know this stuff, some might not have a clue and may not be emotionally/mentally ready to learn that kind of stuff.



I think that, in taking so many topics off the hands of parents (in our area, they teach shoe tying, coat zipping, and kindergarteners are just learning the alphabet) that parents are in turn saying, "Well, I don't have to teach my child anything! The school will take care of it!" Thn, the parents teach less, the school takes on more and on goes the vicious circle. Perhaps, if the schools would stick to teaching the basic principles (reading, writing, math, science, history, art etc) and parents got letters and phone calls about how their child is behind, parents would suck it up and take SOME responsibility for their children's education. (This is a HUGE issue in my area!)



Sex ed is great, for the child that is nearing puberty, and I know that there are some children who get their period 9 or 10 years old, so as early as that, although maybe more lightly since I'm guessing that most children don't hit puberty that early. Let kids be kids, they don't *need* all these grown up concepts and facts when they're learning to write their name or memorize their address.

Becky - posted on 02/14/2012

Sherri- my oldest is verrry inquisitive. He was 3 1/2 when I was pregnant with the baby and he asked quite a lot of questions about it - how did the baby get in my tummy, how will he get out of my tummy... I kept it as general as possible and certainly didn't tell him about sex, but he does know that both mommy and daddy were involved in getting the baby into my tummy. fortunately, he didn't push it too far!

Sherri - posted on 02/14/2012

Nope my child would NOT be participating none of those topics even need to be begun till the 8-9 yr old mark and even then it should be the body changes and good and bad touching and no more.



I also don't know of any kids at 4yr old that are asking where babies come from. Hell I am pregnant and my 5 1/2yr old hasn't even relatively asked. When I was pregnant with my last my middle son was in 2nd grade and even then only asked how the baby comes out.

MeMe - Raises Her Hand (-_-) (Mommy Of A Toddler And Teen) - posted on 02/14/2012

Oh my Tracey, see that is my fear... I don't like that at all... I agree with you that it is too much detail. I hope it is never taught like that to my son, for my daughter it was not. Oh my, I do not want my children being scared by too much detail that they can't even comprehend yet... YIKES

Tracey - posted on 02/14/2012

Having worked in a class with 6 - 7 year olds in an English school for the last 8 years all they are taught about homosexuality is that it is OK to have feelings about their own gender and that same sex relationships are OK. They are not taught how to have gay sex. They are taught about straight sex in varying detail depending on age.



The content is in my opinion far too graphic (cartoon drawings showing where body parts are and what to do with them to get the best reaction), and all the teaching staff feel uncomfortable going in to that much detail when they feel the children (a) don't care about it and (b) don't want to know about it.



The information is not available for parents to see in advance and legally although they can remove their children from the class it is up to them to find out when the class is and what it involves - we don't volunteer the information other than a newsletter at the start of term that states under science - children will learn human biology . All children have to learn the basic facts of life - they cannot be withdrawn from these classes.



The theory behind the lessons is that kids are aware earlier and that they shouldn't grow up thinking they are doing something wrong or abnormal, however the information is too detailed and the result is that the girls are in tears over periods they may not start for years the boys look forward to wet dreams, and the teachers end up blushing when the kids start asking them about their sex lives.



Yes it is good for kids to know the facts of life but they don't need all the information when they can only just write their names.

Tam - posted on 02/14/2012

Also, at least here in the US, parents have the ability to opt their kids out of sex ed classes. Unless that has changed in the past few years.

Sarah - posted on 02/14/2012

For those not in the UK, the Daily Mail is at the scare-mongering, right wing end of the journalistic spectrum, and not always as accurate as we might wish.



Certainly sex education should be started from an early age and children need to learn early on about respecting their own bodies and boundaries.

Becky - posted on 02/14/2012

Yeah, it really depends on how they are teaching it. When they teach about same-sex relationships, are they teaching, "Some men love men and some women love women" or are they teaching the mechanics of homosexual sex? The first one is completely appropriate for a 6-7 year old, the second, no way! but I don't want my 6-7 year old learning about the mechanics of heterosexual sex yet either! If it's more of a broad overview of these areas, I don't think it's inappropriate.

I just had a new baby and my 3 year old (now 4) was very curious about where he came from. I didn't go into any great detail, but he knows that mommy and daddy got him into my tummy and that I pushed him out and that that hurt and made me sore for awhile afterwards. He came to all my midwife appointments with me, so he knows about listening for the baby's heartbeat and all that fun stuff. (He never did have to see me getting an internal though, thank goodness!) So I wouldn't have a problem with him being taught basic details like that in kindergarten/grade 1. Now, if they showed a video of a man and woman having sex and conceiving a baby when he was 5, I'd be calling the school with some pretty strong words!

MeMe - Raises Her Hand (-_-) (Mommy Of A Toddler And Teen) - posted on 02/14/2012

I agree with you Tam. I too started explaining lightly to my 1st child at about age 5 (13 years of age now), my son is under 2 so it is coming in another couple years for him to ask questions. I truly believe if they ask we need to do our best at explaining in their way of being able to understand, only as much as they need know though, as well.



I guess my only concern here was that it would not be me teaching my child, therefore it may be more than I would be willing for my young one to know. However, I agree, it more than likely would be done in a fairly tasteful manner and really actually be beneficial for those children where their parents shy away from answering their questions or give them very absurd answers that are completely nonfactual.

Tam - posted on 02/14/2012

Presented in an age appropriate fashion, I don't see the topics as being bad at all. My kids go to school here in Texas, and as far as I have seen there is really no talk of reproductive issues so far (my son is in first grade, daughter in pre-K). I'm not surprised, around here, though. However, my kids have asked me questions about where they came from, how babies are made, etc. I've answered. The thing is, a lot of adults look at those topics with the full knowledge of what they entail. Most kids aren't going to be exposed to the graphic nature of the things that come to our minds.



My kids know that there are some families with two moms or two dads. They know that their twin siblings I am currently pregnant with were 'put there by daddy' and where they will come out once they are big enough to live on their own without mommy's help. They already know about good and bad touching. They even know a little about puberty, though not that they'd realize it. They just know that mommy's body looks different than my daughter's, and daddy has a lot of hair, and when they asked about it we told them it happens when they are teenagers.



If you take the taboo away from our own perceptions, a lot of the time a kid will take things on board without the perception that there is something shameful about it. It just has to be brought up in a safe, nonjudgmental way. And, of course, relevant to the child's actual maturity level. I'm not fool enough to think all four year olds like my daughter can handle the idea of what a pregnancy is, even in the most general terms.

Sally - posted on 02/14/2012

I really don't see a problem with it as long as its taught in away that they can understand.I have never had a problem answering my childrens questions but i know of parents that do. This surely can only help.

Rebecca - posted on 02/13/2012

Since it comes from The Christian Post, I'm thinking there might be a bit of bias on the reporting here.



If they are "teaching" about homosexuality to young kids, I doubt the focus is on about homosexual sex. Most likely it is as basic as, some families have two mom/dads and that's okay. I see nothing wrong with that, in fact, I think there should be more of that.



Really, what we are talking about is "health" class for kids in small doses on the levels they can understand.

Laura Zoey - posted on 02/13/2012

Many parents don't talk to their kids about these things and just assume the school handles it. So I guess this is negating the need for parents to do anything. Good or bad idk.

Let's just say it could be helpful depending on how it's presented but I'm glad I'm homeschooling.

Stifler's - posted on 02/13/2012

I don't think it's going too far considering there are 12 year old parents out there. I'm hoping that these topics are explained in an age appropriate way (as I expect they will be) or they will fall on deaf ears.

Amanda - posted on 02/13/2012

I think it depends on the content and how they are going about teaching it to the kids.

My son will be 4 in March and he has been asking why him and his sister were in my tummy, how they got in there and how I got them out. So far he has been told because thats where they had to live until they grew bigger and I went to the hospital to get them out. He asked if they were pooped out and I said kind of, he was happy with that explination.



I think there are some things that, especially the younger ones don't need to know, like all the ins and outs of having sex, but I can imagine there are alot of parents of 4-6 yr olds that don't know how to answer their questions so maybe a school based curriculum with someone who is trained to teach these things in an age appropriate manner might be a good idea

MeMe - Raises Her Hand (-_-) (Mommy Of A Toddler And Teen) - posted on 02/13/2012

Yeah, I can see that I suppose, maybe. As you suggested depending on how it was presented of course and hope it wasn't your latter example! hahaha I would have an issue then. ;)



I know I told my daughter where she came from but it wasn't my vagina, it really was my belly (C-Section)! LOL It will be the same for my son.



Some are surely, curiously looking for a little answer... I am not sure about the rest of it though, willing to hear what you all have to say. I am on the fence, I know many will have some good points such as your's Krista. Thanks.

Krista - posted on 02/13/2012

At age 4, how many kids are asking where babies come from? Probably quite a few. Nobody's saying that they have to be graphic about it, but they could certainly give a basic overview at that age as to how babies are made.



Personally, I would like to actually SEE the materials, to determine their age-appropriateness, rather than just relying on descriptions of the curriculum. Because "reproduction" could cover anything from "Mommies and Daddies share a special hug" to "The male inserts his tumescent member into the woman's vagina and thrusts until he attains orgasm, sending sperm-filled semen up her vaginal canal."