Primary School PE Changng Room Arrangements

looby75

Ames wrote: »

In my primary the boys definitely paid attention.

mine too I was an early developer and the boys nicknamed me Mellons

thatgirlsam

aliasojo wrote: »

My girl was 9 when she started her periods first.

She was breastfed for 6 months and then drank follow on formula milk. She refused cows milk more often than not and even now age 12 wont drink it.

Maybe she's the exception though. :rotfl:

I don't think its the rule :rotfl:

She was commenting on some research she had read that linked something in cow's milk to early puberty in girls

I can't remember what it was she said exactly, its years ago

But I have only bought organic milk since

milliebear00001

thatgirlsam wrote: »

I don't think its the rule :rotfl:

She was commenting on some research she had read that linked something in cow's milk to early puberty in girls

I can't remember what it was she said exactly, its years ago

But I have only bought organic milk since

Surely you'd also have to buy organic cheese, cream, yoghurt, butter etc for this to work?!

Baby formula is usually made from cow's milk.

thatgirlsam

milliebear00001 wrote: »

Surely you'd also have to buy organic cheese, cream, yoghurt, butter etc for this to work?!

Baby formula is usually made from cow's milk.

I have no idea as I can't remember what it was she said now

I think there was some research that showed some link between cows milk and early puberty

Something to do with female hormones in the milk perhaps?

I don't know about it 'working' as you say, all I know is what she told me

Eager_Elephant

Oh I'm glad you have posted about this - I am going through the same with my daughter.

She is 9 and had 'buds' last term so we weren't too bothered but over the summer I noticed that she has developed even more so in the holidays I brought her some fitted crop tops which actually cup the breast as I feel she needs support at such a young age.

This provoked a huge response by the girls in her class and by the following week all the girls had crop tops and the boys were shouting about the girls wearing bras etc.

I am not happy that with a developing body she has to get changed in the classroom, my daughter says she is only one of a very small number who actually have more than buds and is slightly embarassed about it.

I think my daughter may start her periods early as she is big for her age, if this happens I will definitely ask for her to get changed in the toilets.

When I was at primary school so about 20+ years ago I remember a girl in Year 6 had to get changed in the toilet with a friend, I assumed it was because she already had breasts and/or had started her periods. No one made a big deal of it, we just accepted it.

I have parents evening next week so will add this to my growing list of questions!!!

msb5262

The problem is that very few primary schools have anywhere other than the classroom for children to change into/out of PE kit.
I teach in KS2 (juniors) and totally see both sides of this situation -

YES it's difficult for children who feel self-conscious, for whatever reason, to change in front of everybody

but

ON the other hand, if there's nowhere else to go, the toilets are far from ideal as a changing area for various reasons: All the surfaces are hard so if children should slip and fall (getting foot caught in trousers etc), they are likely to be hurt. An adult wouldn't normally go into the children's toilets so the children are not directly supervised - also a class often has only one adult so only one gender could possibly be under adult supervision - and if left unsupervised, they may a) mess around, waste time and generally cause trouble or b) tease/bully one of their number...not that unusual in these settings...or c) cause problems with children from other classes going to the toilet during that time.

The other thing is that if children are 7 and they're being "shy" about being seen by the opposite sex, it doesn't bode particularly well for the future. Ideally children could do with less being made of this when they are young and then unless there is a major problem, they will cope ok as they grow up.

This is not an easy issue but it's one we need to address as children are becoming increasingly unfit and overweight - getting them to do PE is just one small way to start creating enjoyment of sports and physical activity.

Good luck to the OP - hope you can find a solution...

MsB

puddy

msb5262 wrote: »

The other thing is that if children are 7 and they're being "shy" about being seen by the opposite sex, it doesn't bode particularly well for the future. Ideally children could do with less being made of this when they are young and then unless there is a major problem, they will cope ok as they grow up.

but this is normal development, its both a physical and emotional reaction to developing a sexual identity, its not something you can train children out of, its normal

plus if toilets are so dangerous how do we ever let children go to the toilet on their own?

millym

I was a 'early developer', back in the 1970's, but my year 5 teacher must have spotted my discomfort, as she suggested I get changed in the cloakroom. This led to many of the other girls doing the same, and becoming 'policy'. Interestingly, the school also brought 'the talk' forward from Y7 to Y6.

I am amazed that Y5s are expected to get changed in front of each other - I thought that was long gone lol!

jackieb

puddy wrote: »

im in my 40s and i started periods at 11 and had breasts quite early. i didnt start at primary school, just after i left but there were many girls at primary school who had started their periods so i dont know where we get the idea that this is a 'modern' thing!

I'm 43 and started in primary 6, so did my daughter. I used to give her her shorts to wear under her uniform but we were told that wasn't allowed! I couldn't understand why as they all wore cycling type shorts which weren't bulky at all. I also used to put a plain white t-shirt under her school sweatshirt on PE days. She was told off a lot for doing that, but I carried on regardless.

I would've been horrified if i'd had to change in front of the boys in my class, as some of them already commented that I had boobs when I was 10/11yo. Fortunately we had separate changing rooms (in an old Victorian school) but my daughter whose school was built in the early 70s had to get changed in the classroom.

daska

puddy wrote: »

but this is normal development, its both a physical and emotional reaction to developing a sexual identity, its not something you can train children out of, its normal

plus if toilets are so dangerous how do we ever let children go to the toilet on their own?

I suspect msb5262 didn't mean that quite the way it might have sounded to some. Not every children is encouraged to have a, for want of a better way of phrasing it, 'practical attitude' to their body. I encountered this with DSD, when she came to live with us it was impossible to even talk with her about anything related to her body other than what was visible when she was fully dressed. Any mention of any part of her body or any normal bodily function was met with total embarrassment because her mum had taught her that it was rude to talk about her body or let anyone see it. It wasn't just me, even her aunt, with whom she was very close, couldn't persuade her to tell us if even if she were in pain, such was the training she had received in not talking about 'rude things'. Working out whether a bra fitted was a complete nightmare! She would get exceedingly upset even if she put a blouse on over the top when her aunt insisted she had to feel the strap at the back to see if it were too tight/too loose/sitting in the correct position, let alone see if the cup size was correct! (I have a very different attitude, not explicit but very matter of fact, and within a couple of years she could laugh as we measured just how far I could project DS2's milk, something like 16' I think it was but when she moved to live with us it was incredibly difficult.)

The point being that parental attitudes are substantially responsible for how a child feels about their body. And too much emphasis on the 'rude' and 'embarrassing' can make it difficult for them to cope as they grow older.