11 yr old boy in Shades of Grey outfit

Don't swear at me, please jingls even if you disagree and think that this was a good idea.

I don't know her from Eve, but she doesn't sound like a very good role model either as mother or teacher to encourage the thought.

Boys idea or not. His mother is an adult - and a teacher. It is her job to see the joke but tell him why it is inappropriate and help him choose a more appropriate character. By 11, the choice is enormous, regardless of his reading age and as his mother is a teacher she should have a good knowledge of the range of children's literature he could choose from.

Where did I say it was a good idea? I am expressing my concern that children have this stuff coming at them from all sides these days. And then the adults shriek in horror because children latlch onto it.

Sigh! I give up.

But I do think the boy showed imagination.

I just hope one of my DGDs doesn't bring him home one day .....

Where is Stig of the Dump when you need him?

(not that I want them to bring him home either)

Or Fungus the Bogeyman?

My youngest GS does a first class imitation of Gollum, so just as well his school didn't subscribe to this 'tradition'!

I do not disagree with you JBF but his mother should have known better. As I said, it his mother's job to appreciate his choice but explain to him why it is inappropriate and help him choose something more appropriate.

Adult sexuality is on the media, whether as books, newspapers or online so of course children will come up against things that we would all think they should ideally not know of. But our role as adults is to guide, protect and contextualise the things children see and read and that includes explaining why Christian Grey is not a suitable character to dress up as for World Book day at school.

Exactly Flickety

FlicketyB there's a series of books by Charlie Higson called 'Young James Bond' DGS read them when he was in year six. I have no idea of the content, they were written for older children probably 12+ Can't believe that DD would have encouraged him to read something that was unsuitable.

Juliette. I've just ordered the first two books in that series (Young Bond) for my grandson. I didn't know they existed. Sounds just up his street.

It seems to defeat the object of the exercise – presumably to stimulate interest in reading – to dress up as a character from a book you haven't read. How can it be your favourite character?

However, what puzzled me was that I was sure my grandchildren dressed up for World Book Day last year but I have heard nothing about it this year. That is because WBD in March is actually only in Britain and Ireland. Everywhere else in the world it is in April.

IMO it was entirely inappropriate for the boy to dress as Christian Grey. I am amazed the mother didn't dissuade him from doing so.

However, did we have to have the predictable expressions of outraged indignation from the moral majority? I am relieved someone hasn't suggested getting up a petition to get the mother fired from her job and the boy taken into care.

Just want to say that GS1 is thoroughly p****d off because his school didn't dress up this year Apparently they will wear red for Comic Relief instead. All very disappointed.

petallus, yes indeed.

I am not clear as to how the media got their claws into this - there has been some suggestion that mother initiated this. I think the school acted correctly but it would have been better if it had been kept out of the media.

Dare I say that there is a strong possibility that most of the children may not have actually read the books featuring the characters they are dressing up as.

I am not saying that dressing up as Christian Grey was right btw.

I don't think the school acted correctly at all Mishap . Why dismiss a character like Christian Grey in order to suggest a character such as James Bond? I wouldn't think either suitable for an 11 year old to read.

The difference is, gillybob, that anyone, of any age, can see James Bond films on TV any Saturday afternoon. I sincerely hope that children of 11 haven't had the opportunity to watch 50 Shades.

Might have caused less of an uproar if he had gone as The Boy in the Dress from David Walliam's book

My grandson aged five went as the Stick Man. He looked forward to it all week, but come the day he was not a happy boy. Somehow he thought dressing in brown and having a painted brown face made him look silly.
He has read the book (many times). It is his favourite. I approved of his choice.

I think James Bond films are vile - murder, mayhem and misogyny dressed up to look glamorous and sophisticated.

The fact that young children can see a James Bond film on the TV at any time indicates our acceptance of "sanitized" violence as suitable entertainment for children, which I think is not particularly wholesome either.

As a child I read the Beano and Dandy comics. Full of violence.

I think it was Dennis the Menace who got a battering every week from his father.