When is the best age for a child to know about LGBT issues?

[edwest2]

My daughter is 13. Where did she get the idea? Look at the culture around you, trans is the next big rights cookie to take a bite out of, so it is getting plenty of airtime. Trust me, my husband and I are treating it with sensitivity and firm affirmation of who she is as a young woman, but these are not easy issues with a prevailing culture, especially at school, of permissiveness.

Well, keep promoting the truth regardless of the outside world.

Ed

 

[Jack_Common]

The idea that LGBT people are some tiny minority that can be ignored is just not realistic these days.

“LGBT people” are a tiny minority. Do you think “LGBT people” even exist in most of the world? “LGBT” is a phenomenon in western societies that have become highly decadent, it is a radically revolutionary sect that has brainwashed a lot of people into thinking that being sexually perverted is an identity. Most people in the world call “LGBT people” sexual perverts. There will be no more “LGBT” soon enough, because LGBT ideology is totally unsustainable as it undermines public morals and leads to the corruption and destruction of society.

“LGBT people” are simply public sinners, a public scandal, a threat against morals. Do not fall for the trick of feeling sorry for them because they like to portray themselves as victims. This is a political ploy designed to make you sympathise with them, and thus with their perversion. Assuredly, they are still human beings and so are called to repentance and conversion to Christ, but do not think that their proud display of public indecency is anything other than a rebellion against God, because that’s exactly what it is. These are often the same people that parade through the streets in political rallies, naked and with words like, “God is dead”, and, “there is no soul”, written on their bodies. Believe it or not, the “LGBT” phenomenon is just a bunch of rich people behind the scenes funding another revolutionary/political movement to shape society in the direction they want. It’s a weapon to destroy society and you should not sympathise with it whatsoever.

 

[ToeInTheWater]

Can you teach children about LGBT issues without going into the sexual aspect, not really. So what do you do? Homeschool, move , get rid of the T.V, cut out whoever you need to cut out from your and their lives.in order to save their innocence -which is MUCH more important than their sense of awareness or intellectuality or what have you!

So, does that mean you do indeed approve of shunning relatives who are LGBT? Note that the “ends justify the means” is NOT a tenet of the Church.

Or, what if despite all your efforts one of your children winds up having SSA. Would you advocate cutting such a child out of your life to protect the “innocence” of the others?

Unfortunately, this is indeed what some people do, throw their own children out onto the street. No one can ever convince me that this can be justified.

 

[edwest2]

“LGBT people” are a tiny minority. Do you think “LGBT people” even exist in most of the world? “LGBT” is a phenomenon in western societies that have become highly decadent, it is a radically revolutionary sect that has brainwashed a lot of people into thinking that being sexually perverted is an identity. Most people in the world call “LGBT people” sexual perverts. There will be no more “LGBT” soon enough, because LGBT ideology is totally unsustainable as it undermines public morals and leads to the corruption and destruction of society.

“LGBT people” are simply public sinners, a public scandal, a threat against morals. Do not fall for the trick of feeling sorry for them because they like to portray themselves as victims. This is a political ploy designed to make you sympathise with them, and thus with their perversion. Assuredly, they are still human beings and so are called to repentance and conversion to Christ, but do not think that their proud display of public indecency is anything other than a rebellion against God, because that’s exactly what it is. These are often the same people that parade through the streets in political rallies, naked and with words like, “God is dead”, and, “there is no soul”, written on their bodies. Believe it or not, the “LGBT” phenomenon is just a bunch of rich people behind the scenes funding another revolutionary/political movement to shape society in the direction they want. It’s a weapon to destroy society and you should not sympathise with it whatsoever.

Let’s be reminded about church teaching regarding gay people, which the media does champion as a “rights” issue, specifically as it regards sexual expression.

vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20030731_homosexual-unions_en.html

Marriage is not just any union, and LGBT persons should be respected as persons, but our compassion should be tempered with understanding.

Ed

 

[Polycarp1]

I don’t have an exact age to begin or even know that there is one. I think it depends on circumstance and the maturity of the child. I do know however that they are being “socially engineered” to believe all kinds of self serving nonsense from the LBGT lobby at an early age.

 

[Upgrade25]

So this topic is inspired by the one about pediatricians asking their patients about their sexual orientation. The OP found this scandalous and asked “Why put these sorts of things in a child’s mind? It’s unnecessary.” As if the average child would have no clue about “these sorts of things” unless a doctor told them.

I’ve also read posts here from CAFers who struggle with how to deal with LGBT friends and family members, many seem to think it’s best to shield children from the truth and refer to same-sex partners as “friends” or “roommates”, think it’s justified to ask same-sex couples to refrain from any PDA, or to keep children away from them completely.

But I personally think it’s pretty naive to think parents can or should shield their kids from LGBT issues indefinitely. Much as with sex in general, unless you keep your kids completely isolated, they’re eventually going to find out, and surely it’s better to find out from the parents than kids on a playground, or some gay activist who declares anyone who doesn’t agree with them are hateful bigots?

And that’s not even mentioning the fact that many children do have SSA tendencies from a young age. I doubt the “pretend gay people don’t exist and they’ll go away” attitude is at all wise.

But that doesn’t mean I think pre-schoolers need to be taught about LGBT issues, either. I’m not sure what the ideal age is, but I certainly think that by middle adolescence, kids need to know something.

I’m speaking as a kid who learned first hand in 7th grade. There are Gay-Straight Alliances(GSAs) in middle schools and the web is full of support for the LGBT cause.

I think it’s up to the parent, but like a previous poster said, they need a foundation in sexual morality, and then postpone as long as possible so the child is mature enough to understand, but take care of it before they rebel against Church teaching on the matter.

I know an atheist who while a Catholic went to pride parades. 7th grade, folks. It’s an issue that is no longer contained to high schools and colleges. It’s in your children’s classrooms, in 6th grade my sister’s friends did the GSA day of silence. But a 3rd grader hopefully doesn’t need to know, though sex is being discussed among kids at that age. At least, my friends did.

I live in a very historically Catholic city too.

 

[AClaire11]

I’m speaking as a kid who learned first hand in 7th grade. There are Gay-Straight Alliances(GSAs) in middle schools and the web is full of support for the LGBT cause.

I think it’s up to the parent, but like a previous poster said, they need a foundation in sexual morality, and then postpone as long as possible so the child is mature enough to understand, but take care of it before they rebel against Church teaching on the matter.

I know an atheist who while a Catholic went to pride parades. 7th grade, folks. It’s an issue that is no longer contained to high schools and colleges. It’s in your children’s classrooms, in 6th grade my sister’s friends did the GSA day of silence. But a 3rd grader hopefully doesn’t need to know, though sex is being discussed among kids at that age. At least, my friends did.

I live in a very historically Catholic city too.

And this is why we’re homeschooling if our very traditional, conservative parochial school doesn’t offer us financial aid.

 

[Mrs_V]

At 5, sex was not a concept I understood. There were mommies and daddies. That was it.

Ed

Pardon me, I just meant being together as ‘in love’.

 

[edwest2]

I don’t have an exact age to begin or even know that there is one. I think it depends on circumstance and the maturity of the child. I do know however that they are being “socially engineered” to believe all kinds of self serving nonsense from the LBGT lobby at an early age.

There is evidence of this.

Ed

 

[Rau]

…Well, do your kids know those people are gay? Just because you don’t talk about it doesn’t mean they don’t know about it. And they don’t need to know details about the sexual behavior of gay people, anymore than they need to know details about straight sex to know that Aunt Minnie, married to Uncle Joe, is heterosexual.

I’m not sure I understand what you’re getting at. But at least when it comes to marriage, we know that institution is sexual by nature. So two men identifying as married effectively announce that their relationship is sexual. If these persons visit your house (say) that may need to be explained to children, and the morality of it discussed, whether or not they are love ones.

 

[Rau]

They’re 5, 3, and 11 months. No, they don’t know.

They are old enough to know that marriage is between a man and a woman, though, and I see no reason in the world at all to let them know right this instant “well, some people think that a man and a man can be married, too.” “Friends” is a neutral enough term and none of our gay friends or family object to that descriptor at present.

And that seems age appropriate.

 

[Rau]

So, does that mean you do indeed approve of shunning relatives who are LGBT? Note that the “ends justify the means” is NOT a tenet of the Church.

Or, what if despite all your efforts one of your children winds up having SSA. Would you advocate cutting such a child out of your life to protect the “innocence” of the others?

Unfortunately, this is indeed what some people do, throw their own children out onto the street. No one can ever convince me that this can be justified.

You seem inclined to want to polarise the possible means of responding to the situation. Who suggested “shunning”, or “cutting” someone out of your life.

 

[1990Domer]

So this topic is inspired by the one about pediatricians asking their patients about their sexual orientation. The OP found this scandalous and asked “Why put these sorts of things in a child’s mind? It’s unnecessary.” As if the average child would have no clue about “these sorts of things” unless a doctor told them.

I’ve also read posts here from CAFers who struggle with how to deal with LGBT friends and family members, many seem to think it’s best to shield children from the truth and refer to same-sex partners as “friends” or “roommates”, think it’s justified to ask same-sex couples to refrain from any PDA, or to keep children away from them completely.

But I personally think it’s pretty naive to think parents can or should shield their kids from LGBT issues indefinitely. Much as with sex in general, unless you keep your kids completely isolated, they’re eventually going to find out, and surely it’s better to find out from the parents than kids on a playground, or some gay activist who declares anyone who doesn’t agree with them are hateful bigots?

And that’s not even mentioning the fact that many children do have SSA tendencies from a young age. I doubt the “pretend gay people don’t exist and they’ll go away” attitude is at all wise.

But that doesn’t mean I think pre-schoolers need to be taught about LGBT issues, either. I’m not sure what the ideal age is, but I certainly think that by middle adolescence, kids need to know something.

Please note I have not read the other posts, but DH’s brother is SSA with a partner. We shielded DS from any talk until he learned about the morality of the sexual act. Also, understand that my son is on the autism spectrum (Aspergers), so we had to take things a little slower and more carefully with him.

 

[1990Domer]

But not all people who identify as LGBT actually engage in “immoral and unhealthy” sexual behavior. And it seems pretty common that when it comes to same-sex attraction, people notice it very young, much younger than 12-13 years old.

And while this may not apply to you, what of parents who actually have loved ones who identify as LGBT, what are they supposed to do? Some sadly deal with it by just completely shunning them in the name of protecting the children. Such as Michelle Duggar shunning her lesbian sister. I am very disturbed by that.

Please know we did not shun BIL with SSA. We asked him to be respectful of our religious beliefs as our son was growing up. He isolated himself by trying to force his lifestyle down our throats. That is unfair. We showed respect. He didn’t.

 

[1990Domer]

So far, no one has addressed the situation of a child who has family members who are LGBT. Are they to be shunned until the child reaches 10, or 15, or 21? The idea that LGBT people are some tiny minority that can be ignored is just not realistic these days.

I know many CAF posters are in that situation themselves, having loved ones who are LGBT, and I hope to hear from them.

What exactly do you mean by shunned, as I feel this question is one we could answer because we have a close relative with SSA.

 

[GEddie]

When are you planning to (or have already) “talked to” your kids about plain old sexuality?

How would you teach them about alternate sexualities if they’re not yet introduced to the genuine article?

ICXC NIKA

 

[ToeInTheWater]

You seem inclined to want to polarise the possible means of responding to the situation. Who suggested “shunning”, or “cutting” someone out of your life.

Well, the poster I replied to specifically stated parents should “cut out whoever you need to cut out of yours and their lives”. So far that is the only example. But it does exist.

To those ask what I mean by “shunning” I mean refusing to have any contact with them, not inviting them to your home, not sending them gifts on birthdays or holidays, not answering letters, e-mails, voice mails, etc. Some who practice shunning refuse to even go to family gatherings they know the shunned person will attend.

Some even go as far as to pretend the shunned person doesn’t exist. Though when it goes that far I guess it might be better called “disowning”.

Anyway, now that I know how young pensmama’s kids are I do agree that they are probably too young to understand what “homosexuality” is. I also realize that many who identify as LGBT do have a rigid “if you don’t agree 100% with my actions you are a hater” and unfortunately it may be impossible to come to any “middle ground”.

I agree that if people are acting out sexually, cross-dressing, being immodest, such as in Monicad’s experience, then it would not be responsible parenting to have young children come into contact with them.

However, I do think issues of sexual orientation and SSA can arise in young people even if they have no concept of what that is at all. The issue with waiting to discuss sexuality with kids (and I’m speaking in general now, not even LGBTness specifically) until after they have already gone through puberty, is that by then, they are already being affected by hormones and may not be as willing to heed the advice of their parents.

Now, perhaps some posters here really think that if kids don’t know about SSA then they’re guaranteed not to struggle with it themselves, but this strikes me as naive.

 

[DarkLight]

However, I do think issues of sexual orientation and SSA can arise in young people even if they have no concept of what that is at all. The issue with waiting to discuss sexuality with kids (and I’m speaking in general now, not even LGBTness specifically) until after they have already gone through puberty, is that by then, they are already being affected by hormones and may not be as willing to heed the advice of their parents.

Now, perhaps some posters here really think that if kids don’t know about SSA then they’re guaranteed not to struggle with it themselves, but this strikes me as naive.

I can personally testify to the falsity of this. I was homeschooled and my friends were either conservative church friends or from an equally conservative homeschooling group. All I knew about homosexuality was what came up in the preacher’s sermons on Sunday - that gay people were bad and wanted to destroy proper marriages.

None of that stopped me from falling in love with another girl in high school. I think it would have been better if someone had sat me down and explained that sometimes people have attractions for the same sex, and that’s ok, but it’s not something we act on.

 

[1990Domer]

Probably the over-arching goal of the system is to game the statistics. I’m not sure how doctors word the question, or how young the kids who get asked the question are, but if they ask a young boy who he likes better, boys or girls, of course most will say boys but they means as friends. Then they could mark this down as homosexuality and bamboozle the public into thinking it is becoming more common. Perhaps in a few years they will criminalize parents who refuse to let their child explore homosexuality. Frankly doctors have no business asking anyone about their sexuality unless they do deem certain orientations to be a disease or disorder.

My 14 y.o. son’s well check is in less than two weeks. If this thread is still going, I will post back.

 

[1990Domer]

My daughter is 13. Where did she get the idea? Look at the culture around you, trans is the next big rights cookie to take a bite out of, so it is getting plenty of airtime. Trust me, my husband and I are treating it with sensitivity and firm affirmation of who she is as a young woman, but these are not easy issues with a prevailing culture, especially at school, of permissiveness.

Good for you and your husband! And I agree, the issues facing our teens is tough. I will say that one of the nice advantages of being mild Aspergers is that they are rule followers. So, I am lucky in that way. Of course, in others it is not so easy. I will keep you in our family prayers.