Sunday 7 March 2010

Sex for Seven and Eight-Year-Olds


Seven and eight-year-old children are being shown a controversial Channel 4 sex education DVD, Living and Growing, at their primary school.

This one minute clip from the 15 minute cartoon-styled film shows a couple chasing each other round a bed and having sex. A voice-over on the DVD describes the sex as 'exciting'. (Youtube required me to register as over 18 before I could access it for the embed code).

A mother, who withdrew her 7 year-old from a school where her daughter was shown this video, said the school sent parents a letter saying they could view the film before it was shown to pupils, but the mother was unable to attend.

What is happening in our schools when parents have to thoroughly vet the material their children are taught? Have teachers lost all common sense? The excuse that thousands of these 'information' packs have been sent out in the past ten years angers me.

Showing infants this explicit material is way beyond the pale. I remember how I behaved at that age. Behaviour read in comics was re-enacted with pals. Children who attended the Saturday morning pictures would come home and if the 'big' picture had been a cowboy, the boys would play cowboys and indians all weekend. We copied without understanding. That's all part of childhood and parents have a responsibility to ensure that children know reality from fantasy.

According to statistics recently 30-40% of children don't reach a reasonable level of reading and writing by secondary school, yet they are taught about sex. For all the sex education provided in this country teenage pregnancies have not dropped by more than a few per cent.

You can call me old-fashioned, behind the times or say children today are far more 'grown up' than they were in the 50s. Whose fault is that? Why are so many children losing out on a carefree childhood? Because our schools are filling their heads with information far too detailed for their years when they should be teaching them what is important to their survival in this competitive, world such as reading, writing, the sciences, geography and history. I'm certainly not against young children being told where babies come from but it could be done much more simply and even more effectively.

Some of you will ask why I object to such detailed sex lessons in infant/junior schools when it's common knowledge many parents don't/won't discuss it with their children. Wouldn't the answer be for schools to provide parents with the DVD and ask them to watch it with their child/children when they reach the age the parents feel it would be appropriate? Give the power to the parents. Leave the graphic detail until children are in first year.

I'm weary of hearing parents being blamed for not taking responsibility for their children's social and well-being education. Most parents do although they have had their rights gradually stripped away over the years. Stand up to Ed Balls and his Department for Children Schools and Families and tell him 'no more' for children in their first two or three years of formal education. They have at least 11 years of schooling in this country and therefore plenty time to gain knowledge of sex. I didn't have sex education at school and it didn't do me any harm. I didn't have parents who felt they could explain it either.

Time to get formal education back to basics and stop filling up the curriculum with subjects like climate change and sex - to name just two.

30 comments:

The Filthy Engineer said...

I watched the Vid. Appalling. It suggests that for the child to grow up, He or She has to have sex. Unbelievable.

Richard said...

Two other bits of hidden propaganda as well: the couple appear to be mixed race (groan) and the 'man on top' bit is balanced with a 'woman on top' bit later. Can't have the phallocentric patriarchal missionary position going unchallenged, can we?

As a piece of educational material, I thought it was OK, and the tone was about right. But I agree that the place for all that is in the home, with the parents, not with Ms Rightonsister in her state-approved learning partnership empowerment facilitation facility.

Like you, I received nothing at school until the final O-level year (frogs, rabbits, and - er - possibly humans), and nothing from my parents, who were way too embarrassed. And like you, I seem to have managed fairly well over the years.

Witterings from Witney said...

So thats how its done, SR! Three wives and only now I know why none of them 'worked'!

Seriously, a bloody good post (as usual) and I have linked.

Yet another example of the state usurping rights from parents!

subrosa said...

That's what we've allowed into schools FE with a leftist government.

subrosa said...

I noticed that too Richard. Pity children can't be taught how to handle money or something. Thank goodness I never had this at school. The bike sheds would have been jumping.

subrosa said...

When are parents/grandparents going to waken up and see the brainwashing of their children?

Thanks for the link. :)

McGonagall said...

Sexualizing wee weans - they should be ashamed of themselves. What's the next vid in the series - two gay guys goin at it?

subrosa said...

Remember that Kinsey bloke the US who said all children were sexual etc scunnert? You can read about him on google.

He wrote the US's sex education stuff and I'm sure this is about that level.

Dean MacKinnon-Thomson said...

Whatever happened to the innocence of childhood? It can't be a false preconcieved notion because I enjoyed one!

richard said...

i wouldn't be happy for my 7 year old to see this. first year biology, fair enough. preferably without a lunatic RE teacher whose descriptions of the effects of VD were so vivid that a woman's fanny appeared to be no less than a major biohazard. so yes, a balance must be struck, but this area of adult life is not for littluns.

Dark Lochnagar said...

Rosie, as you know I don't have kids, so I am shocked THAT is being shown to 7 year olds? The mixed race aspect is also concerning. Not that I think there is anything wrong with that of course, I just don't feel it is the norm and they appear to be one race at the beginning. As for the woman on top. Well, let me tell you, I'm just away to wake the lazy bastard up!

subrosa said...

We have to take some responsibility for this Dean as the adults and protectors of children. I'll certainly be hunting round my area to see what kiddies are getting taught under the guise of 'sex education'.

subrosa said...

Richard, I remember a school pal (male) being very upset because some teacher had been explaining the effects of syphilis for men. It may have been his English teacher on about some writer but I don't remember too many details.

What I do remember is that my pal and his mates talked about it for weeks and said they wouldn't bother with sex if that was the result. It must have been quite a graphic lesson but we would have been around 13-14 at the time.

subrosa said...

Tut tut DL, remember equality and diversity now. That's what the UK's motto is.

As for wakening your beloved up, just let her sleep. She may just think she's dreaming. ;) (I'm being tactful here).

Richard said...

@scunnert: "What's the next vid in the series - two gay guys goin at it?"

I was, in truth, surprised that 'alternative but equally valid sexualities' weren't mentioned. Count on the fact that it will be in Part 2. The mixed race thing is just part of the BBC/C4 thing of normalising things in young minds in the way that they would like to see society develop, viz the disproportionate number of BME presenters in children's television. Brainwashing, pure and simple.

Apogee said...

You all might be surprised at just how far ahead of an amateurish cartoon some of the kids are, and I am not just talking about the current generation of kids. Young kids have older brothers and sisters who talk.
Also kids watch films, and they learn just by living.
Just because they dont talk to you about it. Did you?

Crinkly & Ragged Arsed Philosophers said...

At seven I was earning a small fortune from sex.

Sixpences, shillings, even the occasional half crown came my way for giving my aunties and uncles a wee bit time to themselves on 'our' walks.

Innocense as to the cause didn't prevent me from cashing in on the effects.

As for the video, I don't think it will have any effect one way or the other.

subrosa said...

If you had brothers or sisters of course you heard the chat Apogee. Children aren't stupid, most are very smart before our formal education system gets hold of them.

My argument is that this shouldn't be taught in schools to wee kiddies. What 'teacher says' is perhaps more important than what parents say at that age.

How often do we hear teachers complaining the curriculum is too overloaded?

Scrap this type of stuff for the wee ones.

subrosa said...

I'm sure I had the odd fish supper by the age of say 10 RA. 'Off you go and get yourself a fish supper' knowing full well that it would take me at least half an hour and possibly double that time.

I've no objection to the video RA. My objection is that it is shown to wee kiddies in schools when time could be much better spent teaching them something which will benefit them in their lives.

Let's not discuss the benefits of sex.,,

subrosa said...

Richard, the clip is only a one minute excerpt from a 15 minute video. As yet I haven't seen the full video so can't say if you're correct.

Richard said...

Ah, right, so the other 14 minutes will contain all the other, non-standard stuff. Understood.

Of course, by 'non-standard', I don't mean there's anything wrong in choosing a non-traditional lifestyle. Heavens, no.

subrosa said...

I would expect this video and if not others from the series to cover non-traditional lifestyles Richard. Heavens, yes.

Mrs Rigby said...

How does this balance with the rules about showing "explicit" material before the 9pm 'watershed'?

subrosa said...

A very good question Mrs Rigby.

Perhaps the Righteous would explain it away as 'educational'.

I'll think about this.

Crinkly & Ragged Arsed Philosophers said...

Rosa - stupid me, I thought the bit I watched was all of it!

subrosa said...

Nope RA, that was only 1/15th.

banned said...

First 11 seconds contained kiddie porn, pseudo images of naked children, ie cartoon porn.

Never mind, I learned all I needed to know in the playground.

subrosa said...

Actually banned, a friend watched this clip today and said exactly that. She said if that had been on anyone's PC they could be done for child porn right enough.

Baron's Life said...

Agree with you Subrosa..Children should be allowed to be children and that's all there is to it. They will have plenty of time to grow up and face all this stuff...why take a Child's innocence away by showing them this material...a 7 ~ 12 year old child is very impressionable and must be protected...whatever happened: Listen to the sound of music?

subrosa said...

Oh BL, I should think the Sound of Music would be inappropriate for wee ones. Someone's sure to have banned it.

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