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I am speechless....

ETA: When did 5 year olds start knowing about sex? OMG!

O.m.g.

The article supplies some pretty important facts . . . about the irregular day and the fact that the teacher reported it immediately. I also think an important distinction is that they were found in the bathroom and told the teacher they were "having sex" . . . not that they were actually attempting it.

I am more surprised that children that age know what *sex* is . . . ?! I seriously hope the teacher doesn't lose her job!

I'm guessing one or both of those children are being sexually abused. That's not typical 5 year old behavior!

I'm honestly more curious/concerned about the parenting in this situation. The article is focusing solely on the teacher (who reported it immediately).. but like others have said, why on earth do they know what it is, that it involves no clothes, etc. That's so concerning to me

I feel bad for the teacher; I don't think she needed to be fired over this unless all evidence point to neglect. It's terrifying that 5 yr olds know that being naked w/ each other mean sex! They shouldn't know ANYTHING!

Regardless of what's actually going on, I think a lesson we can all take away from this is that kids are sponges, while it might seem like they're not paying attention, they might be! So, let's consider the songs on the radio in the car, what's on the TV in the background, what magazines, etc we leave out, what we TALK about.

I have mixed feelings about this. I don't think the kids had to know what sex was to know that it involved nudity; that much is present throughout our society. I do think the parents at least need to evaluate the things to which their kids are exposed. I would look into abuse, but I also don't think that's the language most abusers use with kids of that age. I also don't think the teacher should lose her job, but I'm glad for the sake of the students that the board will look into what's gone on. I guess overall I just didn't find the actual behavior as shocking as the headlines made it sound? That's a normal age for playing doctor and other curiosities about their own bodies and the bodies of others.

@looch: Agreed.

@looch: yes. *shudder* I am going to look for a large glass box to keep my child in until he's 18. Not kidding.

My first thought is that something is going on at home

But....yeah they could just hear sex or see it on tv in the bathroom on a tv show and say "we're having sex!" but not know what it is. So scary. Makes me think that we'll have to have this talk earlier than i expect to. I mean...I was in 4th grade. I don't think that's early enough nowadays

And just wanted to add that unfortunately I wouldn't assume that they just got naked. I mean, I doubt they're even physically capable of really having sex, but most sexual abuse victims will tell you they definitely had a clearer idea of what sex meant than just getting naked. So if one of these kids has been abused, which I hope to God is not the case, I doubt it was just getting naked.

And for those questioning the teacher should read his article: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/kids-5-found-naked-school-bathroom-teacher-canned-article-1.1699249

one thing to keep in mind is that it is actually very developmentally normal for children that age to be curious about each other and to explore each other's bodies. it does not necessarily indicate sexual abuse. this is definitely a time for parents to talk to their kids about being respectful of each other, but taking clothes off is actually not a guarantee of sexual abuse. as for the "having sex" part, they are clearly much too young to actually have sex - their body parts are not developed enough to allow for an erection, etc. My guess would be that they overheard the phrase from someone else - an older kid on the bus, the TV, a parent, someone on the street - and parroted it back without knowing what they were saying. just my two cents' worth as a therapist!

That article is infuriating to me. To call into question the teacher, who seems to have done her very best? In my normal classroom, when we're NOT having MAPS testing, it's difficult to keep track of my 28 children. I challenge the author of that article to keep track of a bunch of 5 and 6 year olds, and not notice if one sneaks into the bathroom when she's turned around dealing with one crisis or another.

I also think that it's likely that they were not engaged in actual intercourse, but rather their interpretation of what they think sex might be. I'm not sure that it's an abuse issue, either- sex is not the word an abuser is likely to use. I wouldn't rule it out, of course, and I would investigate the situation further, but I wouldn't jump immediately to the conclusion that it is definitely abuse.

Ugh, I'm still mad at how they're calling for the teacher's head on a platter.

@meganmp: yes, exactly this.

I "only" have 18 four/five year olds and a TA, but there are times that both of us are dealing with separate issues and the kids are incredibly sneaky and fast! Our bathroom is in our classroom too and there are moments when one of them goes without me noticing for a second (it's a half door, with the top part always open).

The sex stuff is in our culture and media and it's completely insane how it's EVERYWHERE. Most kids would have to be very sheltered to not hear about it one way or another. I have kids who know wayyy more than I did at that age.

@lovehoneybee: I'm not saying that is the definite conclusion here, but it is certainly a possibility and should be looked into. I hope it was just a case of kids playing house gone too far, but considering that the vast majority of childhood sexual abuse goes undetected, the authorities would be doing a disservice to those children to not at least check out that possibility. While most abusers will not use real terms like sex and penis, some do.

And even in the best case scenario of this being a game of house gone too far, clearly the parents have some more work to do - when you're talking to children about sex and body parts, that discussion also needs to include a talk about boundaries. I certainly don't want my son walking away from the sex talk thinking that it's okay to go practice it at school with a classmate!

What the what?

I dislike that the blogger is focusing so much on the teachers actions when we should really be concerned about why the children were attempting to "have sex" even if that just means they were naked. The do not think this is the teachers fault.

Wow, I have a lot of thoughts about this, mostly what PPs mentioned and bringing up the fact that kids are sponges much sooner than we realize. This makes me sad and I really hope there isn't abuse found although it does seem a natural thing for kids to explore at that age of innocence.