| User | Comment |
|---|
bill    | | posted 21-May-2008 10:08am |
It would probably depend on the feeling I got from reading the flyers and also how much my child wanted to go.
It would kind of piss me off, but if it meant my kid had some fun and was part of the group, I'd probably give in.
Though, I'd be wary of the quid pro quo that I would assume is coming... an expected donation to the church? Mandatory group prayers? Them trying to get my child to want to get baptized? Hm... maybe, I'd just say "no".
I'd try to talk to my child to explain how I feel. But, I suspect they would not understand. Mostly my issue with this is the tactics. They are using unfair influence on kids, associating fun activities with religion to get them interested.... because they know if they get them young, they may be able to trick them into believing.
I might make plans to move to Atheistville... if I could only finds it. |
cloudhugger   | | posted 21-May-2008 10:49am |
This same thing came up at my house several years ago. A small parade complete with juggling clowns drove slowly down my street. Ayoung woman with a megaphone was blaring "FUN! FUN! At the park!" which was at the end of the block. I was working midnights at the time, so these butt-holes were keeping me awake. I went outside to see what that was and figured out it was the Christain Faith church from the other side of town. That church has a very large field for which they can have their fun fun games right on their property. Their problem was they were at the end of town. They were like the pied piper gathering up children. WITHOUT the parents permission. I saw kids running as fast as they could toward the clowns and happy voices, running in the street full speed like they were possessed. I did not like that, it was freaking scary.
They had set up a carnival atmosphere at the park with games and refreshments. All children were invited and it was during the summer when most kids were hanging around bored. Maybe they thought they were doing a service to bored kids, but what I saw was gathering of souls, seducing the children with gifts and kool-aid. It was scary.
They were no longer blaring happy crap from the megaphone, I went back to bed. The next summer they did it again, and Mary was living with me. She ran outside and confronted them in the middle of the street. She told them I was working midnights, and by the way...do they have a permit to do this and do they have parents permission, and how it isn't right to be doing this type of gathering without some type of permission from someone other than their god. I don't know exactly what Mary was saying but I could see she was getting angry, and the faces of the people listening to her with these slap fudging happy glee in their eyes like they knew they were right and Mary was surely going to hell.
Those kinds of scenes to me are completely surreal, scary reality-unreality cult type religious fanatics.
To answer the survey,  I would make a survey.
I would hope that my children would be open minded enough to not fall into a cult trap and if they wanted to go to circus type religious stuff for fun than I would let tem...but I would have to check the group out first. Cults can be very tricky and can manipulate the weak and so on. I would contact the school, not to complain, but to see what their protocol on these fun filled outside of school activities were. If the school was not aware of them, yes, I would complain loudly enough for them and the media to hear me. IF my child was bringing something home from school, that school better be damn sure they are willing to take full responsibilty for that groups actions. |
Lahdee  | | posted 21-May-2008 10:51am |
I just throw away ones that I'm not interested in. My kids have never bothered me to go to anything based on those ads anyway. If they ask and I say "no". That's the end of it.
They had a huge Harry Potter math afterschool thing at the school and I didn't care. (Not into HP here) I don't mind them having activities that we can just bow out of....... live and let live. |
| Lahdee |
Maybe they thought they were doing
> a service to bored kids, but what I saw was
> gathering of souls, seducing the children
> with gifts and kool-aid. It was scary.
NOT KOOL-AID!!! 
|
| Enheduanna | | posted 21-May-2008 11:22am |
I would be annoyed that any business or organization was being allowed to hand out advertisements at the school. That strikes me as completely inappropriate. I would get a group of parents together and demand that they stop. I would toss all the ones that already came home into the recycle bin. I wouldn't have a problem with my hypothetical child wanting to do something at a church, but I'd rather it be a church where one of their friends goes, so there's a little more personal context. |
Melf  | | posted 21-May-2008 11:28am |
I would make a survey, and then see the headmaster/mistress about it the next time I was at the school. |
| Zang | | posted 21-May-2008 11:31am |
I would use this as yet another opportunity to teach my child about the evils of advertising. |
Iseult  | | posted 21-May-2008 12:24pm |
I'd take my child to attend the same activities at a secular place. If he protests, take him/her to church activities. If he likes it there, well good for him. |
| Frostbrand | | posted 21-May-2008 12:46pm |
I would discard the flyers from the churches, and I would not allow my child to participate in the church activities.
I would contact the school to complain that my child is receiving religious flyers.
I would contact the media to complain that my child is receiving religious flyers. |
Galomorro  | | posted 21-May-2008 1:05pm |
I would contact the school, the media, and complain about ANY ads, religious or not, but especially religious ones. They could be harmful cults for all I know. Kids shouldn't be receiving any kinds of ads anyway-they see too many as it is on TV. |
| cloudhugger | | (reply to Lahdee) posted 21-May-2008 2:13pm |
Yes. I felt the ice go through my veins. |
| Jody | | posted 21-May-2008 2:24pm |
As long as they're for age-appropriate children's activities with no religious overtones, depending on the school policies it sounds like the flyers are being appropriately distributed. I'm sure my child would not be participating in all the events that come home on these flyers, whether religious or not, so I'd simply recycle the flyers. |
| aquawolfy | | posted 21-May-2008 4:34pm |
I don't think anything would be wrong with taking my child to a skating rink just because it was advertised by a different church than my own. |
| ausfox | | posted 21-May-2008 5:34pm |
I would contact the school to complain about ALL of the flyers. Waste of time, waste of paper. |
| RainingFeathers | | posted 21-May-2008 7:24pm |
If my child is interested, s/he can go. If my child isn't interrested, I'd just throw the flyers away.
I see nothing wrong with any child of mine going out and having some fun. if that leads to interest in a different religion, then that's something we can talk about together. If not, it's just socialization. |
| Crayons | | posted 21-May-2008 7:46pm |
I would go if there's a chance that we would be causing spite because the church wouldn't want us there. But I wouldn't tell the kid that, I would just tell the kid that we should tolerate people of all religions, or something like that. |
| RGirl | | posted 22-May-2008 12:14am |
I would explain why we weren't participating and that they are using the pretty colors to try and entice kids and once they have them they will start sending evil IT clowns to their room at night. |
| LJD | | posted 23-May-2008 11:21am |
I would not allow my child to attend. Why confuse the child? |
| Gomezy3k | | posted 25-May-2008 10:01am |
Hey my kid could go to the activities... I would also go with him and no doubt after talking to the people there, scare them so bad they would lock the doors if they saw us coming ... LOL |
| moviesnob | | posted 30-May-2008 11:00am |
I would probably let my child go to some of the activities, if they wanted to. I might try to persuade them to other flyers that have non-religious based activities, but it would go for what the kid wants to do. |
| Van | | posted 31-May-2008 2:28pm |
I would contact the school & object to them passing out advertising flyers to their students. |
| kcthedog |
Sorry not in the mood. I abstain. |
