Drug Awareness

[Nick]

Be interested to hear the VP view on this.

The Boy arrived home from skool yesterday with a book about drugs. He is 10. We live in a village. We do not live in Toxteth. Moss Side or Peckham. The objective seemed to be to raise awareness abou the dangers of drugs. Fair enough. But instead it has raised his awareness about the existence of drugs, with lots of handy information about heroin, crack cocaine and so on. There is even a website

http://www.talktofrank.com/

We have put the book away for future reference, but I am still unsure whether I am right to be concerned or just naive and over-protective. I am sure there are kids from the estate in the next town, teenagers, who are sniffing glue and suchlike, but he hasn't been exposed to that yet, though thanks to this book he now knows about it.

Any thoughts?

[Miss Demeanour]

The Brat has also recently received lots of literature and had talks at school on Drugs awareness. She is 12 and she also received  some basic information when she was in primary school to  - about The Boy's age.

I  know that the shit programs she watches and the crap music she listens to, glamourise drug taking to a certain extent and so I am quite happy for her to hear the reality of it. Plus which I do accept that there will be an element of curiosity and of having to fit in with her friends which may inform her choices especially as she gets older. However I don't think  all this drug education will limit drug use significantly.   A  bit like the education around teenage pregnancy  

It's difficult to just say all drugs are bad and you should never take any - schools still lecture that cigarettes and alcohol are drugs on that level   ( not the cigarettes tho   )  - so kids see and hear lots of contradictory advice and opinion.  

I guess the education is a bit about busting the myths - informing kids of what substances are called  , all the slang names etc and what they contain;  as names often change and so you may actually think you are taking something far less harmful than you actually are etc.

It does highlight the risks - but lets face it that doesn't have a great impact in preventing the use of drugs

[Snoopy]

They'd do better teaching them to read, write, spell and add up IMHO.

What annoys me about all these "initiatives" is that the kids just laugh at them. They are dreamt up by well meaning people but those well meaning people, in the main, are themselves weirdos, the female of the species wear green toenail polish, indian print skirts and no bra. All the blokes are balding but have at least one earring and a ponytail. To a man/woman they are ex hippies who haven't yet grown up and given a choice would rather be sitting in a converted bus in the middle of a field. They all vote Labour and their "Street Cred" is zero because the kids see them as "Really Old and they talk funny, sooooooooooo not cool"

[Darwins Selection]

They'd do better teaching them to read, write, spell and add up IMHO.

What annoys me about all these "initiatives" is that the kids just laugh at them. They are dreamt up by well meaning people but those well meaning people, in the main, are themselves weirdos, the female of the species wear green toenail polish, indian print skirts and no bra. All the blokes are balding but have at least one earring and a ponytail. To a man/woman they are ex hippies who haven't yet grown up and given a choice would rather be sitting in a converted bus in the middle of a field. They all vote Labour and their "Street Cred" is zero because the kids see them as "Really Old and they talk funny, sooooooooooo not cool"

 

Oh how true!

[Miss Demeanour]

The Brat has returned home with a book today entitled " Relationships and You - Making Sex Safe "

It has a  complete  section on how to ask someone out

• Go in with a good question first
• Be ready to listen and develop the conversation
• By all means use humour but just not at their expense
• Be body Language literate
• Be a friend first and not a lover in waiting

That's realistic then  

A very detailed section on what happens to his body during sex and then what happens to hers

A section on facing sexual problems - including not being able to orgasm , erection problems etc

And very tellingly a section on how to end relationships properly  



She has just handed me the book and said it is disgusting  

[Nick]

You seem to have read it closely. I am sure it will come in handy, like

[Miss Demeanour]

I'm saving it - I have a lot to learn 

[Nick]

But for a 12 year old!! FFS.

I got my info from SHE magazine at that age, not teechers 

[Miss Demeanour]

It also has lots of quizzes and such like - if you answered mostly 'A' s then you are relaxed about yourself and will show in the way you handle relationships etc etc etc

But I agree ...12 !!!!!!!!

We moan about kids growing up too quickly but then force them to confront issues that they are not ready for yet 

[Pirate]

I remember when I was 12. My dad( god rest his soul) said "Son. I need to talk to you about sex"

I said "Okay...what do you want to know?"

[Snoopy]

Wait until you get a letter telling you that each child has to bring a banana to school on a certain day. The School nursing service will be there with a box of condoms and the little dears will be shown how to fit a condom onto the banana. My daughter swears that her class asked the nurse how putting a condom onto a banana stops anyone getting pregnant, one child complained that she was allergic to latex so had to use a non latex type but it was OK if the nurse didn't have one of those 'cos she had some in her bag. There was also some hilarity when one of the boys (yes it is co-ed) produced a well overripe banana and one of the girls called out "Just like you Jason, never could keep it stiff enough". The School nurse fled the room in the end and the girls agreed it was better being on the pill anyway "'Cos you know where you are wiv yer monthlies, like clockwork". Another well intentioned idea wrecked by a complete lack of understanding of children.
The difference between teaching and learning has yet to penetrate the skulls of most politicians as well as those of a good many teachers.

[Miss Demeanour]

They had this in the first term at secondary school .

However they didn't have to bring in a banana - the demonstration involved a wooden replica  and they all had to practice putting a condom on it....again a mixed class 

You can imagine the mickey taking can't you 

[Darwins Selection]

They had this in the first term at secondary school .

However they didn't have to bring in a banana - the demonstration involved a wooden replica  and they all had to practice putting a condom on it....again a mixed class 

I suppose that might warn girls off rushing into a sexual relationship for fear of splinters.

I grew up in an environment of breeding livestock and understood the mechanics from an early age, so it was no real surprise that people worked broadly the same way.

Mind you, I never saw a bull spend too much time listening or developing conversation.

They seem to have the knack with body language though.

[Barman]

My parents never tole me nuffink... 

Still, I turned into a stud muffin so I suppose all's well that ends well... 

[Snoopy]

The rools of this room, as laid down by Wenchy herself, are that it is confined to "Serious" posts.

Stud Muffin indeed