http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-05/transgender-child-fights-to-build-house-next-to-westboro-church/7299964


"With nearly half of transgender children attempting suicide because of bullying, violence, and believing they are 'less than', we need to do everything we can to show compassion and let them know there are many, many people in the world who embrace and support them," he told the ABC.

Let's all support the trans community. Oh wait, the kid is 8 YEARS OLD. THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU.

1. EIGHT years old?!?!? The world is doomed.

2. Funny how these LGBT+ communities decide to build their stuff around churches and try to shove themselves in places where they know they are not welcome, like churches, religious private schools, etc., when they have so many other options.

>>2
I'm pretty sure those ones are just the ones making spectacle on the media. Also I think I'm gonna call them trans community. The gay and lesbians pretty much have nothing to do with this. I'm curious about what the rest of the trans community think about this though.

>>3 I was making a general statement related to this as a whole, since it's something I've noticed as of late. For example, Trinity Western University, which is a religious institution, has been criticized for its 'anti-LGBT+' views and values.
Well, why would a trans or gay/lesbian want to go to a school like that? They have plenty of other options where they are welcome.
I don't like how they are trying to force others to accept them by shoving themselves into communities where they know they are not welcome.
If they want to be trans, gay, or whatever else, that's their choice; but they shouldn't expect everyone's approval and they shouldn't feel offended if someone doesn't approve of them. Similarly then, they shouldn't feel offended if the church doesn't support them or agree with building a transgender house next to them.

Doesn't surprise me that these are the ones making spectacle on the media, but it doesn't change the fact that these things are happening. Besides, the media has always been like that, picking the most controversial or "sensational" stories.

But anyway, yeah, would be interesting to hear the view of the trans community on this.

The child is obviously being manipulate by someone close as well as being used as a figure to push an agenda.
It's disgusting that a child is being pushed for something that could possibly ruin her life for some social gain when she doesn't understand whats happening.

>>5 *his life ('she' is biologically male, ain't he?)

>>6
He probably thought it was a girl from the picture

This seems almost as if they're trying to make a safe space as opposed to actually helping people. But smh

>>4
If they want to be trans, gay, or whatever else, that's their choice; but they shouldn't expect everyone's approval and they shouldn't feel offended if someone doesn't approve of them. I'm sorry, but I feel as if this is a very ignorant statement. First of all, being transgender is a choice. Whereas being Gay or Lesbian is not a choice. There is a difference and it would just be an act of ignorance not to acknowledge the difference. Yes, they should not push the child to be the face of something when he or she is not old enough to make such a big decision. Yes, people have been making a spectacle out of something that should not be an issue anymore. Making "safe houses" is just showing others that its one vs another. When it should just be "oh you're trans/gay/lesbian/bi? Okay that's cool." I find it hilarious that its next to the Westboro Baptist Church. And yes you are right. People shouldn't have to accept the LGBT community. But people shouldn't be dickheads about it, either.

>>9
On that note. do you think the trans community should split itself from the LGBQ?
For some reason, heck for a lot of reasons, they seem to be the odd one out.

>>10
I just took around 5 minutes to completely write out my thoughts on the subject but then forgot to put the "I'm not a robot" shit on. So it got deleted. Noob mistake. Short version: On some levels yes because its a process you go through by will. Depending on how you feel. On the other hand, No because keeping the T in LGBT makes it roll off the tongue better. Lol and its always been like that.

ok this is an example of the way things seem to be are going -
so you identify self as a different gender/sex ok right, going by that logic a white guy/woman can identify them self's as Black or Asian with no problems? just as long as they get the right amount of operations to their bodies . . . that makes it ok right? yep Transracial so they will have add an extra T to LGBT making it LGBTT in a few years time. XD

sorry just a little rant, and yes >>9 it is a choice

>>12
That is even more ignorant than the previous statement. If you dislike your color (don't know why anyone would) yes, you could do something about it. Some People of lighter color tone do it all of the time. Its called tanning. And I'm sure with enough surgery, an Asian could pass off as a "white" person. Just like with enough surgery a male could pass off as female. I'm sorry, but if you're going to rant, please state some valid examples instead of saying the first thing that pops into your head. LGBT is for sexual orientation. Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transsexual/ transgender. Nothing to do with race . And if you are so sure that it is a choice, at what age did you decide you were heterosexual or homosexual?

>>13
My opinion: gender may / may not be a choice, I don't care either way, but transitioning certainly is. So is flaunting your gender and making it everyone's business instead of laying low.
This might be saying minorities should behave like minorities and suck it, but really. It's not like bam, society suddenly accepts you. If that was the case, world war 2 wouldn't have happened.
Problem is, they brand everyone who provides valid opinions like children should just be children and not take any hormonal treatments of any kind as bigots, transphobic, you name it.

>>14
Refer to >>9

>>15
Huh. Forgot all about that response. Mist've been the meat bun I ate earlier.
So in conclusion: both sides are dickheads, and the ones that are not are labelled dickheads.
What a happy world.

Btw, anyone know what happened to North Carolina?

>>14
And if we are going to go on about WW2
WW2 wasn't started by racism. World war 2 was started because Germany began invading other countries. And if you are talking about the Holocaust, It was because Hitler blamed the Jews for Germany's downfall. Without racism, world war 2 would've probably still happened. Hitler would just have to come up with another way to rally his people. Faluntinf our gender? How so? I personally like the Gay pride parade they do. Its all around fun. "Instead of laying low"
Excuse you. No one should have to lay low. Not by racial reason not by sexual orientation reason. 'This might be saying minorities should behave like minorities and suck it, but really'
What? And again. Not expecting others to accept. Just except them not to be dickheads.

>>18
Less about racism and more about ingroup outgroup.

In other words, from the media, at least.
Trans people are group #1 and cisgender people (what a redundant term) are group #2 and no one's bothered to contemplate that.

>>20
Whoever let's the media control their opinions is unfit to have valid opinions. Yes do research but we aren't discussing who's cool and who's not. Being honest? I have no clue what you're talking about at this point. Lol

>>21
Me neither, actually. Eating too many meatbuns is bad for the brain it seems.
Media is a lost cause, but you shouldn't ignore it either. It's a window to stupidity that allows you to avoid being stupid.

*rubs hands* my my, how the discussion has picked up.

>>9 This is where you have your opinion and I have mine. IMO, being transgender is a choice, so is being gay/lesbian and whatever else there is out there.

It is most definitely not an act of ignorance, it's a difference of opinion, that's what it is, because I do not agree with the notion that "people are born gay/lesbian" or "it's genetic." Differences in beliefs -- you believe one thing, I believe another. So who's ignorant? Neither of us because we have different beliefs and opinions. To call my statement ignorant because it doesn't fall in line with your opinions/beliefs isn't correct.

'But people shouldn't be dickheads about it, either.' As long as each side keeps to themselves, then nobody would be a dickhead. When the LGBT+ community tries to force others to accept them, then people will be dickheads to them. Likewise, if straight (and yes, I use straight, not cisgender or whatever) people try to force themselves in their affairs, then the LGBT+ community will be dickheads to them.

>>13 'And if you are so sure that it is a choice, at what age did you decide you were heterosexual or homosexual?'

You don't decide. Being homosexual is a choice you make. There's a reason there are men and women on this planet. Heterosexual is how it is natural to be, while being homosexual is a choice. Again, it is not genetic, it's the result of the environment you're raised in and what you're exposed to.

>>18 Absolutely they should lay low. What Neko is saying, in my understanding, is that the LGBT+ shouldn't go around flaunting their beliefs and parading in the streets. You exist, you are there, we get it. You don't need to flaunt yourself everywhere you go. Do straight people parade in the streets and flaunt about their "straightness"? No. Although at this rate we might, just to make a point.

And before you start throwing around words like 'ignorant,' 'homophobe,' 'transphobe,' and whatnot, realize this is my opinion, that's his/her opinion, that's your opinion, we all have our opinions.
But for that, I'm not being disrespectful. LGBT+ people are also human, they deserve to be treated with respect and I wouldn't not help one of them out if their life was in danger just because of what they associate as. I don't agree with how they are, but that doesn't mean I'll treat them with any less respect I treat a straight person.

I know why so many people are like "NO, THIS CHILD IS STILL YOUNG AND THEY DONT KNOW WHAT "TRANSGENDER EVEN MEANS, SOMEONE IS JUST FORCING THEM TO DO THIS" and yes, you can get the vibe from how many people are doing it, but I feel like we shouldn't be so negative about it. Say, you where in the very same position as them, you might not me, but just sympathize with them for a second, let me help you imagine it.

You're in you elementary, born {gender} but ever since you were young you couldn't help but feel out of place, like there was something wrong with you. You never seemed to be as comfortable in your own skin as the other kids your age, something just felt wrong. One day, you happen to look it up, you wanted answers, did others feel the same way as you? or were you alone with this feeling, but no! There are many others! "LGBT+" You look up the meaning for all of them and only one seems to match how you're feeling, "trans". You think this is what your problem is, you were born with the wrong gender, you weren't boy/girl! You were meant to be born as boy/girl! Problem solved, but you have to wait to tell your parents. What now...?

Many child are already deciding what gender they want to be despite being a young age, I'm not saying we should just get them all a sex change at the age of 8, but we should do something to make them feel comfortable in their own skin,
no one should feel like they don't fit with their own skin
which will be with them till the day they die.

This is another topic I'm very passionate about, me being Bi
and a very close friend of mine being trans. He's young,
barely high schooler age, yet he has already taken this
big step for himself. (I'm using the correct pronoun
she wanted to be called by btw).

I think the 8 year old should be allowed to be trans without
judgement. And I agree with >>23 no one here is wrong, the
news section is a place to speak your own opinion on current
event around the world. So no one is truly wrong or right, no matter what you say.

>>23
I disagree. Being homosexual is most definitely not a choice. I'm not sure if its genetic or not. Probably not. And environment has nothing to do with it. I'm going to look for an article written about two identical male twins. Raised in the same environment and by the same biological parents. One came out to be homosexual while the other is not. And usually by the age of 5 or 6, children will begin to display signs of homosexuality and such. Environment has nothing to do with sexual orientation. The only reason people believe its by choice is because they refuse to believe that their God would create such a thing when homosexuality is practiced in other animals as well in the "wild". Yes we all have our opinions, but to go our separate ways is nonsense. We live together. Mixed. As I said before, homosexuality is found in nature but homophobia is only found in humans. (I am not calling you one) Some people just refuse to accept the fact and will continue to pick and choose articles from their bibles that back up their point but refuse to acknowledge the other articles that condemn what they are doing. The reason the parades started is because a straight couple can hold hands in public and kiss but a homosexual couple can't hold hands without being given dirty looks or be stopped by a person with a bible or a person with a child who wants to express their dislike of their children "being exposed to such thing".
>>24
I see your point. Yes they should be allowed to dress however they want. But to make your child be the face of a small movement could have consequences to that child's future. Its best if the child decides when they're at least 16. What they want to be. When they're adults, they may go through their hormone treatment if they wish. And its best to stay away from social media simply because that child might change their mind in the future and if there's stuff posted everywhere stating that they're transgender, they won't be able to take their words back and risk being ridiculed.

>>25 Yes! These Transgender kids don't truly need media exposure for it honestly isn't all that much of a big deal as they're just being themselves, and for the chance they don't feel like they don't be that gender they thought. I won't say that they should be 16+, but I think that depends on the child themselves, I think when the child gains a full understanding of what trans means they should be allowed to pick what they want, but that could just be me XD

>>26
One other thing: which perhaps almost every media coverage fail to say and waht parents avoid talking about.
There are some people who've had gender reassignment surgeries and still not comfortable with their bodies. Usually those people feel both regrets and shame, twice more likely if they had been shouting "I'm a proud transgender!"
When the shame is too much to bear, sometimes people do the dumbest thing they could: they run. As in suicide. This is speaking from personal experience, btw.
You can be supportive of your child being trans, but really, it's some kind of child neglect if you just allow them to make whatever life decision they want withiut making them fully aware of the risks.

>>25
If it's not genetic nor is it due to environment (nurture), then what is it? What other possibilities exist, since it's a matter of nature VS nurture in this case (with nature being out of the question). If you find some article(s), let me know, I'll give them a read.

I don't know why it is that some animals display homosexual behavior (as far as we can tell) while others don't.
Some people believe that's what differentiates us from animals (FYI: I consider humans animals), that animals act on instinct (like mating season) and, for example, engage in courting behavior with the same sex; while humans do things consciously. (Some exceptions, because there are animals out there that are very intelligent and conscious of what they're doing.) This is where I'd like to know why, seeing as my views are anti-homo/trans.

While my religious views are agnostic theist, I don't believe in religion or the Bible. So my reasons for believing homosexuality is a choice don't have anything to do with religion/the Bible. I don't know why homosexuality exists or why people want to be transgender; in the past, it was considered mental illness. I don't know if we will ever discover why. So at this point, I think it's best to just live and let live, each person chooses their own ways of living, their own lifestyle, even if we might not agree with it.

To be honest, it's equally nasty to see a straight couple making out on the streets as it would be to see a homosexual couple, haha. Keep that in your house/bedroom. I'm not one for people to showcase their PDAs. Holding hands? Eeh, whatever, little kids hold hands too.
Though as people always say, if you don't like something, turn your head the other way and continue with your business. It's what I do.

I'm just glad that where I live I have the option to choose what I want my kids to learn and to homeschool them if I don't want them exposed to certain things at a certain age.

>>24
If my child was like that, I'd take her/him to a psychologist/psychiatrist. Of course, the unfortunate reality is I would probably have the CPS show up at my door for doing that.

//wheeze. I wrote too much, as always.

>>28
I literally read the damn article a few days ago and now I can't find it. :/ I'll keep trying just to prove my point because im stubborn. Lol And yes Human beings are animals. Only difference is that our brains have developed new aspects that other animals don't have. That doesn't change the fact that we were once primal beings and we still have some of those qualities. We still show basic reactions such as anger, hunger, and mating. So i believe that its a normal thing that happens. And if we must speak about the past, we must include that innocent people were murdered for being homosexual. Burned on the stake and such. Why would anyone run the risk of being homosexual if they knew they were going to be killed? Why would people "choose" to be homosexual if they're just going to be ridiculed and bullied? That's the part I don't understand when it comes to people who share the same view as you. Why would anyone go through that acceptance process? People teaching their kids that it is wrong to be yourself. Teaching them that it is nasty. It makes me feel a certain way. I do hope that the future holds acceptance. But I understand your points. I was raised in a very religious household and I am an atheist. And I have studied religion. I have come to learn that most hatred and judgement stem from a community who stands for Hope and acceptance and no judgement. (Most religions) Misconceptions spread from the church and leaks into the population creating a single leading mentality. I find it quite interesting. But yeah. Live and let live. And no don't worry. You have interesting points which is essential for a good debate.

>>26 "Usually those people feel both regrets and shame, twice more likely if they had been shouting "I'm a proud transgender!"
I wouldn't say it is something the media fails to report, it is more of the media don't know of it. Yes, there are people of all ages that may regret their actions to get a sex change, but the same goes for anything we do in live, there is no true way for humans to be happy forever, we shall forever experience some sort of other feeling may it be regret or shame. But this brings me into the other thing you mentioned, "it's some kind of child neglect if you just allow them to make whatever life decision they want without making them fully aware of the risks." In America today, many parents tend to spoiler their children, thinking that is the best for them, spoiling them endlessly and drowning them in all the toys and games they could have ever wanted, and yes, this can be approved to lead this child to be less aware of the things their actions may entitle, but you have to remember that allowing your child to be openly trans is just one step, we may it out to seem far bigger than it actually is, yes, by allowing your child to be openly transgender, you are saying yes to something that will forever change their life, but you aren't spoiling them, you are buying them everything from Walmart or Target, you aren't spoiling them to death, you're teaching them that they do have a voice in their own live rather than being forced to watch every day as their parents planned everything out years beforehand, nor are they forced to watch as everything is gently fed to them on a sliver platter. This IS teaching them their actions do have effects they have on their own life. If they do feel shameful later on after they become openly trans or even get the sex change, this would be teaching them "Your own actions caused this, good or bad, you did this to yourself. Are you happy with your choice?" If the answer is yes, then they did a good job for themselves, if the answer is no, they learned from their actions and can in the future use that they learned to get a yes. It's all about learning from your mistakes and such.

And another thing, off topic, suicide is not a "dumb" or "stupid" thing but is rather very serious and leads to tens of thousands dead per year and can be considered a mental illness, it shouldn't be taken lightly and those who can be suffering from depression/suicidal thoughts are not "dumb" for feeling they way they do. It is natural for humans to want to run away from something they can't handle, some people are more extreme than others depending on the situation they're put into. Yes, it is not something that should be done, but it is not right to call it dumb either.

>>26 I understand where you're coming from, but rather than taking them to a mental doctor, I think it would be better to talk to them yourself and try to think of your next action like that, communication is very important since becoming openly trans is a major step in a positive/negative direction. I feel that to often, people think of their child being trans since they aren't comfortable in their own skin so they try to force it upon them, but in reality, it would be a mental disorder they may have called "Body Integrity Identity Disorder"(BIID). I think talking to them could eliminate the chances of being wrong and in the end, your child might not even be transgender, but it would have been something you put in your head after seeing recent headlines. So I think talking is a major factor in this all and most people have seemed to have lost that ability to talk face to face as the time goes by.

//When you write way more than you probably should have

>>30
Suicide is dumb. It's dumb, it's stupid, it's serious and it's tragic. Humans are dumb creatures anyway, there's nothing wrong with admitting being dumb.

I'm not saying take them to a mental doctor, mind you. I'm saying parents should have a proper talk with their kids. I mean proper, not just "hey ma, I don't feel like a boy" "sure honey, let's get you some hormone treatments"
It's an exaggeration, but this is how I feel parents are these days. They are sooooooo afraid of hurting their kids that they forget their kids will get hurt if not by you then by everyone else.

Also what you say about teaching, it's only true if the parents are aware of these things. But do they take a step back and think 'why did I allow my kid to go down this road' or do they just say "no matter what happens, honey, I will be here" just like that? If you're too afraid of even telling your kid that he/she might regret that decision later on, I'm having a hard time believing they would dare say "this is the results of your actions. Live with it"

There's a difference between supporting transgenders and encouraging them. Right now I think people are starting to lean towards the latter.

>>31 and I'm saying the same thing, communication is important for these types of things seeing how its the parents first dealing with such a thing as well as the child. In my reply to >>26 at the end I said that it could be another disorder, but you never know unless you talk to the child. I'm not saying if you feel like something is wrong with you, go get a sex change, there needs to be an effort on both parties to figure out the problem rather than just going for the thing that you see on the news. Yes, I agree that some are in fact encouraging transgenders, but I think that is also media exposures fault and the lack of education people have on what it means to be transgender, no I'm not saying that school should teach us how to be transgender and what it means, as helpful as they would be to some of us, I doubt the education board would allow such a thing, but as the LBGT+ community gets bigger people need to know what they all actually mean. I think if people knew that much, there would be less media exposure, allowing less risk for those who want to be openly trans, and less people forced and encouraged to be trans.

>>32
Actually, according to some news articles, the education board allows that in some places. As in primary schools. Without the parents' prior consents even.

Those kind of things happens allot. But the thing is that every human sees his own life in his ways. He might see his problems as the biggest there is in the world. Thats why every person should be spoken to in a diffrent way to trully understand him. Such acts might reduce the suicide attemps. Well thats my opinion any way ^_^

>>29
Check your browser history haha? Or google key words you remember, you should definitely be able to find it :)

Oh God no haha. I don't think it's right to burn them at the stake or torture or otherwise kill them in whatever ways have been done. Like I said, they're humans too. I don't agree with the treatment of homosexuals and transgenders in Russia, for instance. Violence is not good :/

To some respects, I have to admit as much as I hate it that our brains are different from other animals' brains. Even dolphins and orcas, which are thought to be highly intelligent, with intelligence on a very close level to ours, are still different. Why are humans literally the only animals who have invented and make use of technology the way we do and have reached the point we have? Haha, that's one of those questions that makes me scratch my head all the time.

It definitely depends on what religion, and even religion changes over time. There are many Christian churches nowadays that accept homosexuals and transgenders, and have the gay flag on their church. So I'd say acceptance has come a long way and we're much aware of them and know they exist. So it comes back to my point that 'now it's enough.' The propaganda needs to stop, because there will always be people who won't accept them, but they are able to live comfortably and have support from their community nonetheless, unlike in previous eras. (Well, at least in North America.) Humans are all racist, sexist, homophobes, transphobes, etc., to some extent, some more than others, that's just our nature.

Oh boy... why I have those views, eh? I'm already treading a really fine line, and believe me when I say that I have to be really careful with what I say, even on the Internet (I take forever to write these replies because I triple-check what I write), because you can get arrested for having and expressing views like mine where I live haha..... shoulda used a Tor browser to begin with :/
//probably screwed anyway, might as well tell you. My reply (>>28) to >>24, the last part at the bottom. I think it's a mental illness.

>>32, >>33
Oh there would be Hell on Earth, I would bury that school 6ft under if they taught my kid about LGBT+ in PRIMARY school without my consent. Though with our idiotic generation and era and the way the world is heading, if I ever have kids I'll just homeschool them, not putting them through the shit they call the education system.

>>33 >>35 I'm not saying that they should teach them without their family knowing, if anything there should be a extra class that teaches it for those who want to learn about it, but maybe in the last year of Junior High, as they would have a better grasp on it all.

>>35 If you home school them your children might not develop their social skills as well as those who are in public schooling, but I'm not saying its a bad thing as my friend recently left school to be home schooled

>>36

"If you home school them your children might not develop their social skills as well as those who are in public schooling"

Aah, that's the wrongest statement you could ever make, no offense. I've been homeschooled since halfway through middle school, and prior to that went to normal school. But since then, I've been homeschooled. I went to university for 2 years, then (because of other circumstances) had to switch to an online university (so I'm still 'homeschooled' lol), and I'm graduating next year.

For all that, I'm perfectly social. It's a misconception, a HUGE one at that, to imply that homeschooling limits social skill development. Homeschooled kids go to other activities -- clubs of all sorts, and other extracurricular activities for example, or even events set up by the distance education school they go to.

If anything, we're lucky to avoid the shit that kids go through, especially in high school.

But yeah, no, do a bit more reading, or ask around a bit more and I guarantee you you'll see that there's no impairment in social skill development from homeschooling :) No worst than those kids isolated at public schools, and Hell if I have to say, sometimes better social skills than those who went to public schools.

>>35
Read it somewhere last month. Basically primary school has a session where they told children 'imagine if you were aliens and you came to earth without genitals'
I'm surprised ey even use the word genitals in primary schools whike sex ed. is basically non-existent.
It was a byproduct of those safe schools I think.

>>38 WTF?? Wow, I gotta find that. Yeah, I remember sex ed from primary school, and it was definitely not nonexistent. Let's say it was traumatizing and scarring at that age and got me looking into things a 6-7-year old shouldn't have.

A bit off topic I suppose, but there should be an option to not have your child taught sex ed at school. I don't think it's appropriate in primary school and that sex ed is best left to parents (though I guess not all kids have good parents). Hell, I knew nothing about sex and never thought "where do babies come from?" at that age, I just cared to have fun. Then sex ed came along. (Oh yes, I have something against schools, if it wasn't obvious enough already.)

>>37 this.

>>39 I agree that sex ed classes stir up curiosity, but on the other hand, there were a surprising number of sexually active primary kids at my school when I was little (though of course, parents and teachers would vehemently refuse to even consider that their itty bitty babies were nailing each other), even before we had sex ed classes. [Pregnancies weren't really a problem since little girls (at least here) are generally infertile until adolescence.]

I disagree with being able to opt your child out of sexual education without a good reason beyond "I don't want them learning it". That sort of sheltering is one of the ways sexual offenders keep their children on a leash; if they're not made aware of what it is they're doing, they have no reason to think it's wrong. That was actually a big focus of our initial sex ed classes (how to get help in case something 'bad' is going on at home, etc).

This is also why a lot of people are against homeschooling and certain private school institutions; I obviously don't share that view point. But if you've decided to enroll your child in the public education system, I don't think you should be given a say in which subjects they are or are not taught. That's something that should be up to the student imo.

That's how it was when I went to school with anything controversial, anyway. We, as students, were given the option to opt out of those classes (we'd take a study hall or extra gym instead), but our parents were not even informed of them (to ensure abusive parents couldn't threaten their child into opting out). I think that system generally works fine.

>>40
That's a good point, but when the targets are children as young as 4, you have some solid reasons to doubt that whole thing.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3495285/Parents-pull-children-primary-school-outrage-planned-transgender-day-children-young-FOUR.html

>>40
You make good points. But I have some things to add then.

The curious question is where did they learn all this sexual stuff? I say this, because I don't believe small kids the ages 6-7 or so, would be knowledgeable about anything sexual unless exposed to it in one way or another (TV, conversations they overheard, from other kids from school, etc.).

I'm not saying the reason is "I don't want them learning it." Rather, it's "I want to teach my children at home, in a way that is appropriate for their age and with only as much information as appropriate for their current age." I think this is more than a reasonable reason for wanting to opt out. It's a free country after all (if we're talking about Canada and USA).

I don't believe it's up to the government and educational institutions (which are, for the most part, government-affiliated anyway) to educate our children. Governments have taken children away from their parents for the stupidest things, believing they have 'ownership' over someone else's children, and, believing it's up to the government and not the parents to educate children. Too easily the CPS becomes involved in something these days, and back in my primary school days too. I remember how the teachers threatened, more than once, to call the CPS because my parents didn't agree with some of their school policies.

Lucky you were given the option. I remember how much my parents fought with the school officials to have a say in what me and my brother should be taught. When I decided to do homeschooling (actually by our own choices, both me and my brother), I had a choice for the most part, and when I didn't we talked it out with the teachers. So that was nice, I liked that.

>>41
I think the whole deal behind this is to generate a society of people who can be easily manipulated, starting with children who are the most easily influenced and manipulated. This is just one part of a whole.

>>35 I said "might", I'm not saying that everyone who is home schooled lacks a social life, since I have many online and off, friends who have been home schooled. And I don't think their is bullshit in High school, yes, that is where most of the bullying happens, and yes, we could all due without that, but I think the drama is somewhat good as a way to cope with things later in life, as thing won't always go your way. But with the home school, I was more talking from my own thoughts , If I, was home schooled I honestly would lack social abilities as I do now.

//These things move to fast man XD I don't have enough time to reply to them before they disappear!! CRIES

>>43
My dear, that's where you and I have quite different opinions haha. I don't think what you go through in high school -- the bullying, the potential drug abuse or exposure, the potential alcohol use, the rather common cases of sex during high school -- is necessary to teach you how to cope with things later in life. If anything, it's an extra, and at times a negative extra.

In my case, I'm really glad I didn't go through some of what my friends who went to public school went. My one friend says her biggest regret is losing her virginity in high school and that she'd give almost anything to go back and not make the same mistake again. I have other friends who dealt with drugs and are not doing too well these days.

Haha, I'm sure you'd find other ways to socialize. But I'll say this: homeschooling is not for everyone. There are people who don't have the motivation or discipline to get through their studies on their own, and there are people who feel like they lack socialization because they aren't in contact with people face to face during their "school time," and don't make up for it with after-school activities. Point short, it's definitely not for everyone haha!

We have gone so off topic, whoopsies, hehe :>

// Aye, the bbs is an ever-changing place, gotta keep up with its fast pace XD