Diocese to teach NFP to 4th grade girls?

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rciadan

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Please, take a look at the AD, which came directly off the Diocese of Palm Beach website. I’d like some (name removed by moderator)ut as to if you think this wrong or not. My thinking is that it is a grave matter and very disturbing…
2007 Mother-and-Daughter Programs
The Mother-and-Daughter Programs explore God’s special gift of human fertility and the beauty and wonder of God’s plan for growing up and becoming a woman. They take place in an atmosphere of love and learning and they create a foundation for communication between parent and child. Presenters are Natural Family Planning Teachers, Health Care Professionals, Specialists in Education, and other trained volunteers in Family Life Ministries.
 
My daughter developed fairly young, but a lot of her contemporaries didn’t. I wouldn’t have taken her at 10, but she would have been ready by 11. I’m sort of hopeful that my other daughter doesn’t develop so young 😉

I think the parents would be the best judge of the readiness of their daughters.

I think it is the step in the right direction!

Firstly, it is involving both mother and daughter. The child is not being educated in a co-ed group of children removed from the family.

Secondly, it seems to be a Catholic view of sexual development. The is a real beauty in God’s design of fertility.

I think I’d have to see it to be sure of its appropriateness. It is wrong to present sexual material prematurely. But, the program also allows the parent to be the judge of the child’s readiness. Perhaps you could call the presenters to get an outline of the presentation to be sure.

I think you are fortunate to live in this diocese. 👍
 
I think it sounds like a neat idea!
Especially for those children who attend pulbic schools (I’m not sure how the state requirements for “sex education” apply within the Catholic schools)… but I know I remember having some lessons early on in 4th or 5th grade at public school.

I think the mother-daughter setting with the strong Catholic perspective sounds like a great program! At least this would give these girls a strong foundation in what the Church teaches, so that confusion doesn’t arise in the public school “sex education” topics…

Sounds pretty neat to me! 👍
 
it seems to be a mother-daughter program, not something present to children alone without (name removed by moderator)ut and guidance of parents.
It seems to be designed to provide parents with info they need to guide their daughters
girls this age are definitely, some of them, becoming a woman as they say and need the information
anything that helps parents provide the Catholic view and teaching is to be commended
there is no indication on the site that they are being given the specifics of NFP, just that educators oriented to that idea, rather than the mainstream “give’em condoms and pills” mentality, are assisting with instruction on fertility and cycles–info which every girl has the right to know when she enters that stage of life.

no where does it say they are teaching the mechanics of charting, etc.

I think OP is over-reacting. I can say that when my daughters reached this age I freaked and welcomed the excellent m-d programs presented by our parish and diocese to help me teach them properly.
 
To the OP - I think perhaps you are misinterpreting this. I don’t believe the program teaches the specifics of NFP to these girls. The reservation form indicates that the program addresses

“the changes in a young woman’s body as it prepares for motherhood; the onset of ovulation and subsequent menstrual periods; the function of the female reproductive system; the sacredness of human life; and the virtue of chasity.”

It sounds to me to be similar to the information provided by public schools in the same time frame, but from a Catholic perspective and with the mother present. To me, this helps open dialogue for mom and daughter and may help girls feel less burdened by their monthly cycles, since they know they can talk to Mom about it.

I can see how you might be concerned about young girls learning NFP, but I don’t think they are being taught how to chart cycles, just about how their bodies work in general. If you have information otherwise, I’d be interested to see it.

MJ
 
My DD & I went to what I assume is a similiar program. We actually went twice - once as a younger girl and then as a young teenager. Both programs were excellent. The first talked about God’s plan and becoming a woman in a very positive manner. The second emphasized chastity. Both opened the doors for future conversations between us.

DH and DS also went to the “manly” version of these programs. Amazingly enough, I didn’t get too many details from either of them of what it covered:D !

Kris
 
This sounds like an awesome idea!!! The sympto-thermal method of NFP contains a TON of info I wish I had been taught, like cervical mucus, which is something I never learned about before I had my first period, and it would have been helpful to know. I thought I had an infection or something the first time I saw it, and my mom is REALLY uncomfortable talking about that sort of thing, so it took my awhile to mention it to her. Sounds like these girls will be getting a way better version of sex-ed than even I got, as a Catholic homeschooler.
 
I would definitely take my daughter to something like that at the age of 9 or10 (she’s 9 now). NFP is all about knowing and understanding one’s natural bodily processes and for girls who are near the onset of menstruation, I think a good explanation of what goes on and why is a wonderful thing. Especialy considering it’s for mothers and daughters to attend together I see nothing wrong with it. I have already begun to explain to my daughter how her body will be changing etc. as she nears puberty (she’s an early developer like her mommy), so I think this would be a great way to show her that link between her body, her faith, and God.
 
When I learned NFP while I was engaged, I realized how much I didn’t know about my own body. It was really strange! Before the class I knew nothing about my cycle, hormones, etc. I remember thinking that I wished I’d known more about my body before and that it would have helped me to understand the changes I went through as a young girl.

This program sounds great!
 
Thank you all. The (name removed by moderator)ut has helped tremendously.
 
I agree with all the pp- I would love to have gone to a session like that. There is so much girls are not taught about their own bodies, I only learned because I actively sought it out when I was investigating NFP on my own- never learned in school or at a diocese-offered event. Even if I/my girls (if I have them) weren’t early bloomers, you know they’re still talking about it/hearing it so I think 9-10 is an acceptable age to start.
 
Lil_M said:
I agree with all the pp- I would love to have gone to a session like that. There is so much girls are not taught about their own bodies, I only learned because I actively sought it out when I was investigating NFP on my own- never learned in school or at a diocese-offered event. Even if I/my girls (if I have them) weren’t early bloomers, you know they’re still talking about it/hearing it so I think 9-10 is an acceptable age to start.
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I’ll second that. If I have any girls, I fully intend to start teaching them about signs of ovulation myself, as soon as they start puberty. I wish someone had done that for me, but unfortunately my mom didn’t know about any of this stuff, and the public schools I went to wouldn’t have mentioned it if they did know.
 
Wow, I think that sounds great! I so hope my diocese does something similar.

My daughter is 7 and in public school. I dread the day that she will have the state-mandatory sex-ed. How wonderful that the Catholic perspective will be shared with the mom present. I have to think that really helps keep communication more open between a mother and daughter about changes and future situations.

I agree with everyone else - sounds really great!

God bless!

Trish
 
TrishaW said:
Wow, I think that sounds great! I so hope my diocese does something similar.

My daughter is 7 and in public school. I dread the day that she will have the state-mandatory sex-ed. How wonderful that the Catholic perspective will be shared with the mom present. I have to think that really helps keep communication more open between a mother and daughter about changes and future situations.

I agree with everyone else - sounds really great!

God bless!

Trish
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I totally agree. Except my DD isn’t in public school, she’s homeschooled.

I wish that I had something like this when I was growing up. I would have really enjoyed learning why I had so much mucus, what it was, where it came from, etc.

I am a promoter for CCL and trust me… to totally plan to teach my DD’s NFP, just not in a sexual sense… but rather a biological sense for teaching purposes. I would LOVE to have a mother/daugther event to attend that was like this. Talk about strengthening the bond between mother/daughter because it opens an avenue of communications!!!
 
tamccrackine said:
I wish that I had something like this when I was growing up. I would have really enjoyed learning why I had so much mucus, what it was, where it came from, etc.

I am a promoter for CCL and trust me… to totally plan to teach my DD’s NFP, just not in a sexual sense… but rather a biological sense for teaching purposes. I would LOVE to have a mother/daugther event to attend that was like this. Talk about strengthening the bond between mother/daughter because it opens an avenue of communications!!!
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I agree 100%. I don’t have a daughter yet but I will be teaching my nieces. We NFP promoters should probably work in our diocese to get things like this happening.

EDIT: Just sent an email with the flyer link to our teachers and promoters in our diocese.
 
I really wish that a program like this was available to me as a pre-teen. I’m still angry about the simple biological stuff I discovered when learning NFP that I had never known before (and I learned NFP 2.5 years ago!). If I ever have daughters, I am going to make sure they know the basics- not for sexual use (they can learn that later when the time is appropriate) but for the purpose of understanding their bodies and not being freaked out by changes.
 
nova147 said:
The reservation form indicates that the program addresses

“the changes in a young woman’s body as it prepares for motherhood; the onset of ovulation and subsequent menstrual periods; the function of the female reproductive system; the sacredness of human life; and the virtue of chasity.”

It sounds to me to be similar to the information provided by public schools in the same time frame, but from a Catholic perspective and with the mother present.
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I can attest to the fact that this information is not really given to girls in any meaningful way in the public schools, as I am a product of the public school sex education program, and I barely knew anything about my reproductive cycle, my sexual organs, or chastity/abstinence. I knew how to place a condom on correctly, however. 😦 :rolleyes:

IMHO the medical establishment is not attentive to the needs of women in any way. I too remember how duped I felt when learning stuff about my own body through NFP and abortion research. I still struggle with ignorance from the medical establishment, regardless of gender of the doctor, about my subsequent health issues resulting from childbirth. I am learning a lot through my own research via the internet and the library.

I think this sounds like a wonderful opportunity, I wish I knew these things at a young age, before I felt pressure to conform and experience the tacit condonement of the medical and education community and engage in premarital sexual activity.
 
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