life education van?

[polly]

Originally Posted by emamum23

fair enough educate them young, in a way that is age and stage apropriate but it is sad that it has come to this!

I am definately gunna ask the head if i can sit in cos this has got my interest.

That sounds like a really good idea. Infact it would probably be a better idea for it to be made compulsory for all the parents to attend - but of course the one who need to be there would not show up.

In my experience if a young child knows what to do with drugs it is because they have seen their parents or siblings using them at home.

Fraid I dont know what the solution is it seems to be ingrained into our society that parents have the right to be as irresponsible as they wish

[cherokee]

Sadly we live in a world where our children really do need educating on such issues. drugs are everywhere these days . schools, youth clubs, street corners, blimey they,re even openly sung about, used in lyrics like the are second nature.

Its a sad sad world we live in and our childrens children are the ones to suffer it ..

[Lilly]

The life education van has been to my childrens' school twice.

The first time it came my son was in reception class and, I must admit, initially I thought along similar lines to you, emamum.....too much too young etc.

They invited all parents to visit the van prior to each session to see what the children would be taught.

They do sessions for children from reception to year 6 and the sessions are age appropriate.

In reception they had puppets telling a story and they learnt about healthy bodies, good foods and bad foods....vegetables yes, chips no etc.
They were told about the need for regular exercise and not to wander off from your mum or go off with strangers.

The second time it came my son was in year one. He attended a session where they were told about good drugs and bad drugs. He told me when he came home how some people need to take regular drugs for a medical condition and how we may need medicines when we're ill but that there are some drugs that can damage your body and make you ill and we must not take these. They were told not to accept anything from strangers.

He was told about smoking causing cancer and how it makes the heart beat faster. They were also told about alcohol and the effects of drinking too much.

He learnt a lot and I was impressed with the way the information was given.

Don't worry, emamum. Your son won't be shown anything inappropriate or told any horror stories. It's education done in an age sensitive way.

[garinda]

It does seem shocking, but if it's done in a way six year olds will understand, I think it is a sensible idea.

I watched a programme this week about cannabis, and I was horrified at statistics which showed 40% of twelve year olds in the U.K. had smoked dope. Warning of the dangers of drugs, as part of education, can only be a good thing.

[AccyLass]

I think it's a great idea especially for the unfortunate children that have druggies for parents

So that if their parents have drugs lying round the house, they might be less likely to want to eat a tablet or drink something once they have been told the danger of it/what it could do to their body

Also children are good at guilt tripping people, I know when I smoked, my daughter kept coming home and telling me that smoking was going to kill her Mum, me! So, what did I do? Gave up, of course

Obviously they don't or can't just do it for that reason, there are plenty of other reasons too

[shillelagh]

When i was governor at the local school we were all invited to it to see what the kids would be learning as well as the parents. It was interesting what the kids would be learning and it was all done to fit the age. The life van normally parks up for a week at the school and the kids are in and out of it all week.

[garinda]

Well from what other parents have posted, whose children have already been, it seems a very worthwhile initiative.

[steeljack]

just another excuse for parents to abdicate responsibilty and expect the state to take care of things .......
How many on here have bothered to call the police when they know illegal drugs are being used or sold in their local area ? but thought , nah , it's none of my business .
How many on here have called thier MP and asked him why if the Govt. thinks certain drugs are ok in small quantities why is it neccessary to educate children about the evils of drugs .

[garinda]

Originally Posted by steeljack

just another excuse for parents to abdicate responsibilty and expect the state to take care of things .......
How many on here have bothered to call the police when they know illegal drugs are being used or sold in their local area ?

Me.

As for your first statement, would you suggest home schooling for all children, rather than parents relinquishing the responsibility of general education to the State?

[garinda]

Originally Posted by steeljack

just another excuse for parents to abdicate responsibilty and expect the state to take care of things .

Personally I think it is the State's responsibility to educate it's future citizens in all matters, and not just the three R's.

As a society we should strive to ensure that our children receive all the learning and wisdom they can, because sadly a lot of children don't get much of that at home.

If just one kids avoids becoming a smack head because of this, then that is worth it in my opinion.

[steeljack]

Originally Posted by garinda

As for your first statement, would you suggest home schooling for all children, rather than parents relinquishing the responsibility of general education to the State?

No, certainly not (as you well know) but ...what I am saying is , Parents have a greater responsibility to look after the upbringing of thier children than a school teacher whos job is to educate a child , not babysit , or engage in social engineering thru either political correctness or the political propaganda that happens to be the flavour of the day

[Less]

Originally Posted by jaysay

When I hear about things like this, I just shake my head, what kind of society are we living in when we are having to teach six-year-olds about drugs. The thing is that if you don't talk to children at this early age about these issues then some mother and father will end up broken hearted when their child is offered some "SWEETS" and they take them, with disastrous effects

Yes, you are so right, drug abuse knows no boundaries, (as with other forms of abuse), no matter how careful we all try to be temptation can easily be put in front of a curious child better that the child has been given five minutes of warning than we should all live with a life time of regret!

[shillelagh]

Originally Posted by garinda

Well from what other parents have posted, whose children have already been, it seems a very worthwhile initiative.

It is rindy. The kids benefit from it, the life education people cover a lot of subjects - drugs, sex education, healthy lifestyles whats good for them and whats not.

Its took me ages to find the website.

About Life Education Centres

[emamum]

ty had his lesson in the van today.. he says they talked about healthy and unhealthy food.. i asked if there was anything about medicines and he said yeah..... dont take medicine you dont need, it will make you poorly......thats it!