Roderic O’G: Transgender issues added to primary curriculum

I am 39 and have three children, aged 17, 9, and 7. I assume I now meet the allowed criteria to comment on this.

Children are incredibly impressionable. A child who's struggling to fit in, and doesn't have many friends starts hearing that sometimes a boy/girl is actually born in the wrong body. They latch on to that, and start to believe it about themselves. Teachers, childrens charities, and medical professionals captured by an ideology based on nothing but feelings decide that the only correct course of action is to affirm this new gender identity. It snowballs from there to puberty blockers, and cross sex hormone therapy.

Everyone should read Dr Cass' interim report.

There are more than enough detransitioners with horrible stories of how messed up their lives are now, who know had they not been affirmed they'd have been better off.

Let children be children. If they want to be non-conforming to gender stereotypes, let them, but they do not need adults influencing them in ways that are potentially very, very harmful.

Whatever about childless old men, the last couple of ministers in this portfolio have been absolute fad merchants.

That said, social policy formation in government has now been completely outsourced to the loudest NGOs.

Nothing surprises me anymore, however I won't have my rights to determine my child's education trampled on. No doubt, the system will make this as difficult as possible.

I’m certain you’re right about there being plenty of parents who don’t want their children learning about this stuff too, but that’s really neither here nor there.

They do teach it to their children themselves, and they’re often as lost and confused about the whole thing as their children are when their children identify themselves as transgender. I’m talking about the reality of the situation in Irish society, as it is currently, not the ideological nonsense that gets punted about online. Your suggestion has come up before in relation to a number of things children learn at school that people feel should be taught to children at home by their parents.

The fact is that wouldn’t change whether or not schools are entitled to offer an education on the topic, and they do, and parents who support that, enrol their children in those schools. Parents who don’t wish to have their children exposed to it have about 90% of other schools in Ireland to choose from 😂

It should be obvious why the State’s involved in Education.

Children shouldn’t be told about anything so I guess. Just in case they make a bad decision in their teens. No child who has been sheltered from the world has ever had a bad experience. Information only ever leads to harm.

I have no need to read them back, I and many others have read what you said.

Shame on you for those posts.

Nothing directly to replace it.

Well the post I replied to said pretty much exactly that

Well if that were so, then there would be no debate. The reason some people are concerned is that there is the possibility of transgenderism specifically being explained and taught to primary school children. I am not convinced that there is any solid proof that this would have no negative effect on some children. As a previous poster said, it is not so much an issue when this is all in the realm of talk / ideas, but when, even if it is at a later stage in their teens, there is even a remote possibility of gender reassignment treatment being considered or discussed in any shape of form, then I think it is quite right to look at the whole proposal very carefully indeed.

I have 2 kids, one in junior infants and one that will be starting in JI next September. There is zero need to go into gender / identity politics in primary schools in my view. The message should be acceptance of everybody, that we are all humans, that everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and respect. Singling out trans, homosexual, travellers or what ever minority for special consideration only preaches division imo, its specifically stating that people are different and unfortunately differences do end up causing division.