My son’s primary school had optional Christian education classes that my son wanted to attend because his friend went. I let him go, but in an age appropriate way told him why he should take it with a grain of salt. I didn’t think too much of it because it’s a public school and I thought it would be more like a history of Christianity lesson, or lessons about what Christians believe, or some mild age appropriate Bible story, one with a moral to it and a nice ending. He came home from his first (and only) class telling me his ‘teacher’ (volunteer from the church with no qualifications) had told him that his parents were going to hell because they were not Christians. She also explained how hot it was going to be for us there. After I stopped laughing and reassured him, we contacted the school and pulled him out of the class and let the assistant principal know what had happened. She seemed like she didn’t believe me or my son (kids do make stuff up) and said she would look into it. She called me back to say that Ms Church Volunteer freely admitted it and had been ‘teaching’ the whole class about how everyone is a sinner, and sinners go to hell but all they had to do was ask god for forgiveness to avoid burning for eternity. But my son had asked for clarification about non believers who wouldn’t actually be asking for god for forgiveness, so she had to tell him ‘the truth’ hence the hot flames and the eternally burning parents. The assistant principal conducted the next class in order to reassure the kids about their parents going up in flames and Ms Church Volunteer was replaced with someone else. The class was pulled completely a couple of years later.

Not really. As our son got older and began asking questions, we answered him in an age appropriate way

the listed details that the teacher is telling her students is only an opinion or guess by scientist and is overrated and possibly false. Mother Nature takes care of her earth and does what is needed. Every incident they come up with and report is worst case scenario and if they are wrong they dream up a new El Nino or something else to blame....... All scientist and our Government is about these days is gloom and doom!! Sounds more like one of them online games you see everyday our kids are playing - maybe scientist/Government is playing too many games these days !!!!

Kids don't need this stress added on there shoulders they need to learn but not be traumatized no wonder so many kids these days have anxiety

Probably depends on the age of the kids……

i used to pay my boys out about long showers then one day i took them fishing for a bit of fun and my youngest now 35 said to me i know what you mean about long showers, what do you mean i say, he said i can see how much water has disappeared on the river[ the tide had gone out] i left that one alone

I was quite afraid back in the cold war days but my father told me not to worry because adults would deal with the problem, so I relaxed. I get quite angry with teachers etc. telling young children that the world will burn up, the ice caps will thaw and the oceans will rise drowning coastal residents. The worlds climate has changed over the millenniums without the help of humans and it will change again. It's a natural cycle, and who does mankind think he is that he can change the weather? It's a pity that so many people have given up going to church because if they did they would learn from the bible that the earth will stand to times indefinite. Man will come and go but the earth will be fine. Our creator will make sure of it.

Oh for the simpleness of childhood. However, is it really better to tell them fairy stories or explain that this world holds many wonders but some are neither funny or pleasant. We do not live in Disney land.

So true, it needs to be said but said in a way that is not going to upset them .

geeeez so many of those stories, they didnt believe me fruit comes from trees no way pop that's disgusting it comes to us from the supermarket,i remember when my eldest left home and he got his first water bill, and so when did you have to pay for water my reply just wait till you get the Etsa bill, but the grandies have been reduced to tears when they find out the meat they are eating were actually animals hasn't put them off they still love their chicken

It’s hard to be nice about real tragedy...honesty, told with kindness and love and humour if possible (as you did) is very important with children...all around the world children fighting for their future! I often have conversations with children who are fully aware of the climate change and do they little, but important part without panic, like cleaning the local creek, collecting the plastics, planning their future studies so they can do something big against climate change!

Never experienced with my children but am fed up with all the scare mongering going on these days.

We sometimes panic for a reason. It's called the fight or flight mechanism.

a friend and i were talikng about climate change.he asked me HOW many changes in climate have happened .he said 5.. i heard on the radio a couple of weeks back a expert said scientists have discovered a mountain range under the ice cap of antarctica nearly as high a the himalayasEdited 28-Sep-24 15:38pm

So many interesting facts I've learn from my elders and their experience in life through their many years

Ok

we've been measuring earth's climate change for about 0.00000000000000001 of earth's history.what about the other 99.99999999999999999 of earth's history ???

It's called "fear mongering" the teacher should not be upsetting children like this.. Yes there is climate change but it's not all doom and gloom that we are all led to believe.. Also not the teachers place to have discussions around these topics, it's the parents or caregivers.

Were always getting told silly thinks by the oldies, seemed to be their pastime when they ran out of gossip. Don't look up as a plane flies over or it will drop down on you -- never happened that I can recall. Don't point at a rainbow or your finger will burn off. If your not good the good Lord will not give you your daily bread ... was ready with an answer for that one .. just told my uncle we'd go down the shop and Mary will give us some ... Mary was his lady friend and I think he was already married .. he was very good looking and she was very pretty!

The primary schools in Australia have" the health van". Teaching children the dangers of smoking and drinking,prescription medicine( are not lollies). Some older children are asked about drugs,ie marijuana and are shown pictures of pipes( water pipes,and things that look like vapes. They talk about stranger danger too. I had given up cigarettes,but started again shortly after the fires. My son was in tears,telling me I was going to die,that I was killing myself. He literally had a panic attack every time he saw me with one. Yes he is right,I am killing myself,there is no reason that justify what I was doing. I still continue to struggle with cigarettes, I give up for a while,then go back and give up again. He was 8 then, what he was taught isn't incorrect. At first I was upset that he was told these things,but I truly agree. They have to know,and I should know better.

You handled this situatione xceptionally well sweethrart, and MUST BE \\\applauded ON your management iof the scenario. on your management of the scenario.

You are a bit like me making a plausible lie

Thes are not harsh and terrible things, they are lies spread by uneducated morons. These lies and scaremongery have been peddled by USA for over 5 decades, started with AL GORE. Elites are still building seafront mansion, resorts funded by bank loans. BANKS dont waste or risk money this way. The fear mongering only works on those who have never had a decent education and swallow this garbage. THIS IS CHILD ABUSE

Yes the world is changing but slowly let kids be kids

The teaching fraternity have a lot to answer for.We had the iron curtain, nuclear holocaust, ice age, global warming, then when it got cool again it became climate change, hole in the ozone layer caused by heavier than air gases.. don't know how...only good bit was heaven and hell took a back seat.

Yes but I do , believe we should teach our kids about global warming because they are our future and it will be up to to them how they treat their planet based of what they grew up learning

The education department and governments want teachers to teach children about the First Nations people and how white man stole their lands. That's okay but the way white man treated the First Nations people was barbaric and inhuman. Do little white children need to be taught that our forefathers were murdering rapists. That First Nations people were cannibals and ate other humans that landed here prior to being colonised. They want the truth to come out about the way they were treated oh but talk the truth about what they did to each other, their treatment of different tribes. Their rituals and mercy killings, stealing of other tribes women and children. No that is not included in the curriculum. Does American teachers teach about slave labour and about white man stealing Indian lands? That due to the invention of barbed wire the tribes were nearly starved to death. History isn't always so glamorous and just look at what happened in Scotland and Ireland with the British. There is histories truths and facts and then there is histories sugar coated we will only teach you the pretty and wonderful side. Then we grow up and find the real truths out for our selves and are astounded we weren't taught that. I think if it is left to the parents they wouldn't be taught history at all.

Children, not unlike fine wine, come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, temperaments, understanding and interest. A school teacher may not have been prepared properly to look out for the myriad of children's opinions. Don't blame the teacher for revealing facts about the world that are true (unless of course you're a "climate change denier?"). Kid's see the world through a very limited lens depending on how things go at home. Do you talk about current events? Do you expose the kids at home to this type of news? Do you just bury your head in the sand and pretend that these things will just go away? Do you think the children are so dopey that they can't get a grip on these things when explained in a way that they understand (you'd be surprised by how much the child knows and about what subjects)?Yes, you have to be as compassionate, cognizant of who you're talking to, use facts and language the children can understand and be as kind and patient as possible. When the child has heard as much as they need they'll let you know by ending the conversation. Be as kind and patient as possible when discussing things that may be quite frightening.Edited 27-Sep-24 12:34pm

I am so with you Tracey 1419192.

Why on earth do people feel the need to share horrible things with children?? Can't they just let them be children? There is nothing kids cand do about this situation so why scare them so? It makes me so angry when people frighten children!

The school system and newly trained teachers have a lot to answer for. Teach your own kids the truth and have discussions.

HI Barbara--ty

Life is full of danger but do chidren need to know ? let them be children they will have a lot more to worry about later

Global warming is not mentioned in my Bible. Just another money making ploy by big brother

I just tell kids that the things they learn in school are a guess - they could happen but might not and we just prepare ourselves as much as we can and then don't worry about what we can't change. We've been waiting for the big earthquake here in CA, forever. I have my extra water and earthquake kits but not much else I can do. It's likely something health related will kill sooner than climate change.

I well remember my mother instructing us, during the "Duck and Cover" era of the Cold War, that since any attack against the USA, we in Canada would be the airspace over which interception of Russian bombers or ICBM's would take place, we would be safe in our basement under an oak table we used to fold laundry on. Mom.said it.. so it had to be true. No further explanation was offered...None was needed.

The teacher needs to be disciplined for citing non-factually based future events. The problem with climate change discussions is that has moved away from scienctific rigour/facts based evidence and into emotively politicised commercialism.

Not that I'm aware of.

No but I agree with the response.

You want your children educated but you want to fantasise the truth. There is nothing NICE about what we are doing to the planet and it’s our children and grandchildren that will be dealing with it.

hurricane coming in action today reality future ?

We were told lots of things, go to the toilet in the morning or your breath will stink, all ways wear clean underwear you never know when you will be hit by a bus, don’t pull face the Wind might change and you will be stuck with that face, and many more I can’t think of right now.

Wow good on u dad for making a joke about it. But no i havent experience that. But i totally agree with u.

One could always bring up alternatives as well, or look things up with them; that way they learn to think independently, come up with questions and not panic - leadership qualities.

the worrying thing can be that at the time of the story, all seems ok with them so you don't pick it up, but when they go away and think about it later , you don't have a clue what's worrying them

Absolutely. You tell them in terms they can understand, keep it honest and respectful. Imagine how your 6 year old self would like to be told for peace of mind and heart.

I believe that the monstrosity I am referring to is in Manchester England. It is a massive creepy, think "Chucky" kind of massive baby doll who's purpose is to recieve questions about climate change from local children and then at the end of a month, I think a month, the creator of this abomination will have the doll answer the questions that the children have asked, although I personally believe that they'll be delivered up a sermon exactly like the child who prompted this discussion in the first place. Education and indoctrination are NOT the same. The children today are being indoctrinated into a world view where they will grow up in fear believing that making their OWN choices dooms Mother Nature and all of them. This is a really evil way to indoctrinate kids who shouldn't be worrying about how bad eating meat is for the planet and how going to microproteins, insects and larva in everything, and living in a square box near public transport,as you won't be able to afford a vehicle nor get access to one, unless you're special of course, is the only way to save the planet! No kids for these kids because the world is ending right! I consider what is happening intentionally to our children today is nothing less than abhorrent and I wish that judgement would fall upon the architects of this fallacy. We have a sun that is a MILLION times larger than planet earth and we live within a solar system that experiences huge electromagnetic changes, solar storms, coronal mass ejections and we ARE in a period of time that hasn't occurred since AD77. Look up and see what the 4 gas giants are doing and wait until October 27th, just a month away, and see what the force of electromagnetism can do to a planet, but just leave the poor bloody kids alone! Thanks for reading.

Yes, give kids the chance to work it out to their level of conscious understanding. We have more than enough rubbish in the world which I believe is being slowly purged to make way for harmony, peace, and loving-kindness in the new age. 😃

haha

The thing is that climate change is not hapening its a natural progresion thats been going on for thousands of years they are only saying this to make money and to change things that dont need to be changed

Perhaps the teacher should have explained it a little better especially so if they were very young children the teacher was talking to.

Is climate change talk more scary than mass shooting drills? What scares me is the occurrence of unnatural events and damage from mass shooting caused vs predictable events from climate change (and minimal actions taken in it).

Ok good dont panic

panic? why?

It is sad that some feel the need to brainwash others [and scare them] If one looks at history most of the climate change is natural cyclic happening. I agree that there are too many humans on the planet and most don't look after the environment. But this 'ideological' garbage that is floating around now is for what I don't know

All depends on the situation you are in.

It was declared the world would end 21st May 2011, on my son's 9th birthday and he was terrified. Showed him how many times these 'end of days' were predicted and wrong. That was good enough for him and off he went to school.

The world has warmed, cooled and flooded since the begining of time. We have had ice ages and flooding rains which children should be educated about. However, what they are told now is that Global Warming and Climate change is causing all this now and it's all humans fault. If you talk to any geologist they will tell you all this was occuring long before humans walked the earth. Rocks tell us so much. Governments just look for ways to tax us and at this time Climate Change is a great reason, they think, to tax us. This only happens in the western world. That's why the likes of China, India and many other countries are not bothered about these things.

Depends on how old the children are

I only panic when I panic.

My youngest grandson then aged 6 panicked when watching news reports of the plane hitting the World Trade Centre on 9/11. He thought it was another plane hitting buildings every time the scene was shown.

Exposing children to experiences in their environments allows them to learn and grow, good or bad, they develop resilience. What wonderful parenting when your children can share their experiences with you, unconditional love ❤️

maybe a fare way away yet

Climate does change, but not to the extent that our children are being frightened that there is no tomorrow...Shame on those who are financially benefiting from this propaganda!!!

TRUTH I BELIEVE IN IT

Surprised they didn’t google an answer on their devices😊

not right of any teacher to put fear in a child and "NO ICECAPS ARE MELTING A PROBLEM

No, but they need to know to teach them to take better care of what they do since it is their future which will be mostly impacted.

I don't have a kid or kids! This scenario does not apply to me. However, when I was a kid - I prefer the facts, without the facts being sugar coated! Furthermore, knowing the facts did not send me into a PANIC as a kid!Edited 27-Sep-24 09:54am

I would not put my kids in a pubic school.

No we gave never experienced this

No we gave never experienced this

My granddaughter comes home from school and tells me there were lockdown drills today. She was very a matter of fact about it. This has replaced the fire drill and is the new norm?

This is a good video to help discuss such topics with the kids https://youtu.be/kAjnVcB5YYY?si=Gl83W_ZaoGdYC3WR😄Edited 27-Sep-24 01:06am

Yes ,the little children scare easy.

You handled the situation well. Its propaganda that does nothing but instill fear. Better for the teachers to teach children to respect our planet as we are the caretakers and the voice for those who cannot speak.

Doomsday sayers are everywhere. I have lived on my beach for over 40 years and it has not risen a cm. Yes some islands are sinking - they are built up of coral which compresses and collapses - hence the water starts to cover the island. Sand islands also have this problem due to wind blowing the sand away, water slapping it constantly and eroding it. This constant barrage on our young children has got to stop. It is not just with climate change but so many other negative things like do not eat meat, do not do this or do that. If we teach our children good things the world would be a better place but hate and distrust has taken over and the unrest in our young is showing big time.

Exactly, If you can't say something nice at least be diplomatic and not make people panic.