Peer Pressure

Peer Pressure can be great, it can motivate you to try new things you wouldn't think of doing on your own. Or, there may be things that you are afraid to do, but you do them because you are being encouraged/persuaded to try.

This day is turning out to be the day of Peer Pressure for me, both positive and negative.

Let's start with the positive, that's best!

Diane cut my hair today and I was really looking forward to that. She does such a nice job (I think). I was smiling as I walked into the salon because I knew she would flip over my glasses and want to give me a new doo to go with them.

I was right!

First it started off with the cut, doing something a little different with my bangs. I was into that!

Then I started telling her how Wild she was and she started telling me how Wild I was. Before I knew it she was mentioning color, and her eyes were getting all sparkley and she started foaming at the mouth (that last part is just editorial license).

That was the peer pressure. How could I say no to her? I knew she would be all over the new frames (won't be surprised if I see her in a pair next month when I go) so I just couldn't say no to her. And I like red. It was either a big red chunk or a big blonde chunk, so I went with the red. And we dyed the rest a nice chocolate brown. Now I'm a rock'n - way out there- chick and my 7 year old says its fabulous while the conservative 5 year-old gave it a thumbs down.

Then I went to the kids' school to see the content of the Sex Ed. curriculum that my DD will be learning next month. It was kind of spurring me on to start talking to her about womanly stuff, which was good. I want to be the one to talk to her, I want to have a tiny bit of CONTROL over what she is learning about her body and the human body.

Then I watched the videos.

I'm just real mad right now. Frustrated. Please don't take this the wrong way public school teachers/system (remember I was in that field once and I DO have sympathy), but some things concerning the educating of the masses just STINK!

Now don't get me wrong. I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with Sex Ed. BUT....and here's the BUT: When it comes to your own child, you want to have some CONTROL over the what, when, why and how of this education.

Thank you Public school system for telling me that 4th grade is the right time for not only the girls, but the boys to learn about women's menstrual cycles. Thank you Public school system for telling me that 5th grade is the right time for my daughter to learn about wet dreams.

Now, don't get me wrong here. I want my daughter to learn all about this stuff. It is so very important. But golly gee, what percentage of girls are having their periods at the end of 4th grade? Have things really changed that much since 1980 when only one girl in the 5th grade started hers?

I'm OK with my daughter learning about this now, although I would prefer it to be next year. I'm not opposed to my daughter learning about testicles, sperm, ejaculations and nocturnal emissions. But why does it have to be in the 5th grade? I can see the need for her to know it in the 6th, where you start seeing a greater % of kids starting to have sex. But how many boys are having wet dreams in the fifth grade? Please tell me, I've never been male so I really don't know? And, how many kids are having sex in the 5th grade?

I realize that public school is educating the masses. Therefore, whatever is happening to the masses dictates what most or all students learn. It's the shove everybody into one box theory.
People are indivuduals and cannot be shoved into one very small box, but as much as I detest this theory, I concede to the idea that peer pressure (majority % of student population) must win out over the minority. That's the essence of public education. What's best for most is what's best for you.

Therefore, if somebody somewhere can tell me that 20% ( I think that's a reasonable percentage) of girls start menstruating in the spring of their 4th grade year (9-10) years old, I'll stop with the Mama-Bear attitude and chill about it. If somebody somewhere can tell me that 5th grade boys become semen producers then I'll just have to chill about that too.

But right now, all I know, is that my daughter has to grow up, it's inevitable. I get that. Just don't tell me that because the nurse starts seeing one or two girls out of the entire 4th grade population starting their periods that all 4th grade girls and boys must learn about this highly anticipated event of nature.

Can't we just give our kids as many years of innocence as possible? I guess its just not that way anymore.

So, I'm not making my daughter opt out of the movie she's going to be shown because that's stupid. She'll hear it from everybody else, and hearing it is not the issue for me. The issue is the timing.

Enough said. And forgive my ranting, because I know I'm doing it. I'm just upset, disappointed, mad, and feel like someone's leading me around by the nose. Shoved me into a corner. And I'm starting to get grouchy, even barking at the kids. I need to vent, so guess what, you were just the lucky recipient to get dumped on. Now I'm going to go try to enjoy a rookie baseball game in the rain!