Should my 7 year old son be in trouble for saying this at School?

Question

My son is in 1st grade this year and yesterday when I picked him up from after school...the teacher came up and said that she knows he was joking with his answer...but she asked "what should you not eat for breakfast?" His answer was "BEER"...she said that is was funny, but he should not have said it since there were other kids around. I don't drink, so I am not sure why he would say something like this.

He has had discussions Cubscouts about recycling and they were trying to get the kids to say aluminium cans and one boy stood up and said...Wine...my parents drink alot of wine...I really don't see a big difference in this discussion with the cubscouts and the discussion that was held in after school.

I told my son that he was not in trouble...just don't say something like that in school again.

Any thoughts???

Answer 1

My son is 5 and knows what beer is.  And that is for adults only.  I do not drink beer but my hubby does and at get togethers others do.  Anyway I dont think it was a bad choice for him to say.

Answer 2

Sounds like he was trying to be a clown. You did everything right.

Answer 3

I think it was a truthful and very funny answer. Trouble?  No, i don't think so.  You were right this is a good 'don't do it again' situation, not a 'your grounded' situation

Answer 4

How weird!

I agree with you.  First, it is a reasonable answer.  You shouldn't have beer for breakfast.  :)  Second, I'd assume that half of the kids' homes have beer in it over the course of an ordinary week.

If he were 12 and trying to be funny and provocative, I'd side with the teacher.  But 7 y.o.s still don't quite have a clue.

I *do* drink - we might that family that needs to recycle lots of wine bottles, LOL!  I'm Italian - wine has always been part of the landscape.  I think that's far healthier than acting like it's a taboo and forbidden subject.

You did the right thing.

Answer 5

It was inappropriate but he just thought he was being funny so no I don't think he should be in trouble. It makes me think of the time when my daughter was in headstart and the teacher pulled me aside and said she was concerned b/c my daughter told her that I always drink and drive, which is ridiculous! I told the teacher to ask my daughter what it is that I drink. She asked and my daughter said "Coke but sometimes Pepsi"!

Answer 6

I can think of a lot worse things for a 7 year old to say!

I dont think its a problem

Answer 7

Trouble? By you or the school?  

There is a problem in todays society, schools (the people running them) seem to think they have the right to place their morals on everyones children.  They do not, they are to teach acedemic subjects, that is it.  You should have a meeting with the administrators to make it clear that you are the parent of your child, and have the right to raise them the way you see fit, (barring of course criminal treatment of the children, like beating).  If this continues consult an attorney.

Answer 8

The teacher is making a mountain out of a pimple. Doesn't she have some teaching to do?

Answer 9

no he shouldn't get into trouble for it.  this would be a good opportunity to talk to him about how terrible beer is!

tell his teacher beer is not a bad word.

Answer 10

It depends, if your son was trying to be funny, a class clown..then yeah it was inappropriate.  If he, however, innocently stated that and meant no harm a simple correction would do.

Sometimes our kids give teachers to much info as to what is going on at home! :)

Answer 11

While a 7 year old talking about beer in school is not appropriate, I wouldn't say that he should be in trouble either.  

His answer was correct.  Beer would not make a good breakfast choice.  

All the teacher had to do was change the subject and offer other examples of bad breakfast choices, like pop-tarts, and coco puffs.  

She did the right thing by telling you what he said, but I don't think it was her intention for you to think he should be repremanded.

However, it is a good platform to bring up a discussion about alcohol and drugs.

Answer 12

i dont htink he should get in trouble and if he does you should raise h**l because there is alot of worse things he could have said instead of beer. and besides you shouldnt have beer for breakfast.. trust me. lol

Answer 13

I think it is cute that a seven year old would say that it brought a smile to my face so thanks.

Answer 14

I don't understand what the teacher's problem is - your son is right, having beer for breakfast isn't good.

Does she really believe that the rest of the class will be harmed just by hearing the word "beer" in a negative context? Are there really six or seven year olds out there who have no idea what it is?

Answer 15

Funny.he should not be in trouble

Answer 16

I think you're fine and the fact that his teacher admitted it was funny shows she has a sense of humor.  I think she said the part about his not saying it again because she needs to cover all basis just to protect her job.  At least the question wasn't "What should you eat for breakfast?"

Answer 17

Nothing wrong with that at all!  His teacher is a moran, your son just sounds like a cute fun loving kid ( - :  No harm done...im sure the other kids will live hearing the awful, dirty, horrible word BEER...LOLOLOL.  If I were you I would tell the teacher to buzz off, you sound like a good mom and im sure you have everything under control.

Answer 18

I'm in 8Th grade and dont think u should get in trouble for it but on the other hand if u read ur hand book then u will see that u cant advertise alcohol or drug in school. im sure the teacher just didt want the other kids in this class to think beer is cool because ur son said it.

Answer 19

Your son's teacher doesn't sound qualified to work as a babysitter, let alone an educator.

This is a non-issue.  It proves only that even those who lack basic common sense when dealing with children can nonetheless earn a bachelors degree and make mountains out of mole hills.

A teacher with even a modest amount of intelligence would have followed this up by asking your son "Why isn't beer good to have for breakfast?" and then transition into a discussion of what is healthy for children and what is unhealthy for children.

As it stands, a learning opportunity that could have stemmed from a pretty funny joke by a student was wasted by an unqualified teacher.

Answer 20

i don't thank he should of got in trouble for saying beer in school kids said worst things then that now

Answer 21

he shouldnt be in trouble. that is something you should not eat for breakfast. so what kids cant say "drugs" in school now? "kids please dont do that horrible d word" the teacher should be in trouble for getting your kid in trouble.

Answer 22

everybody's too PC these days.  there was nothing wrong with his answer.

Answer 23

I don't see anything wrong with it all he's only 7.

Answer 24

That is the cutest thing ever!  If this was a 7th grader yelling it out trying to be funny, I could see the teacher getting a little upset.  A 1st-3rd grader saying this however would make me roll on the floor laughing.  He was saying this as an honest true answer, I believe.  How did he get in trouble anyways?

Answer 25

My daughter actually gave this answer too in 6th grade. They were discussing Columbia and the natural resources/products from there. Her teacher was coaching them along when no one could think of anything. He said, "Well, there's something your parents probably like to drink, that you don't." She is the girl who you would NEVER think would give an answer like this - very seriously, she thought about it for a minute & raised her hand and exclaimed, "BEER!" Her teacher nearly fell over laughing and had to tell me the whole thing - he thought it was hilarious. We don't drink much either - so who knows what he thought!  She never considered coffee - because it's one of her favorite flavors (for ice cream). We had a talk about giving people the wrong impression.

I think it's one of those, "Out of the mouths of babes" kind of things - kids are just building vocabularies and don't really consider whether something is off color or not. I can think of a lot worse things he could have said! LOL! I think you handled it appropriately.

This will make you feel better - when my son was in kindergarten, he brought his sister's bra to school for show and tell!

I think the teacher had asked them to be creative and bring something in that maybe other kids hadn't seen before. Nice! I DID get a phone call. His teacher didn't think it was very funny. My husband and I, however, thought it was one of the funniest things we had ever heard of and we were kind of proud that he was TRYING to think outside the box.

Answer 26

I think it's much ado about nothing. Some teachers now days seem to want to make a big deal out of a very little. Kids say things like that all the time,they have weird little senses of humor at that age. I'd just tell him not to say beer at school and let it go. My grandson comes up with things that blow my mind periodically. I pick my battles carefully. Too much criticism is bad for a child. I save punishment for the big, bad things, it's more effective that way. this years teacher is determined to put my grandson on drugs because she says he's hyperactive. the thing is, we have no problem with him at home. The psychiatrist actually told her to her face to shut up about it and leave the child alone. He said he wasn't going to drug up a child because she was incapable of controlling her class. She even wanted to talk to his next years teacher to tell her about him., the principal told her she was to do no such a thing.

Answer 27

For some reason people are really uncomfortable with talking about alcohol. Prohibition ended YEARS ago.

Anyway... I don't think he should have gotten in "trouble" per say, but maybe the teacher should have mentioned it to you and let you handle it at home.

We are a family that drinks wine and beer in the home. I imagine my daughter has mentioned that fact. I wouldn't worry about it. Some people are just prudes.

Answer 28

He got in trouble for saying Beer?  Kids are saying and doing much worse things in school than this,  plus not like he said something wrong.  You definately should not eat Beer for breakfast!  He should be rewarded for his educational insight!!  You have a great kid, I'm sure you're a great mom.  Don't worry about it.  He should have added Marijuana and Beer, at schools they need to take this kinds of scenerios and make them Drug and Alcohol awareness moments for the children.  I would go back and tell that to the teacher, this stuff is around our kids, we can't watch them while their in school too, so we should have the support of the teachers.

Answer 29

My oldest daughter teaches first grade in FL, and one of her students came in discussing what he had seen his parents doing in the bedroom, so "beer" is pretty tame, but I wouldn't want my child to say it, just because I wouldn't want anyone thinking I drink.  

As for saying it in school, per se, I guess anything drug-related, or s*x-related, etc. should be avoided if possible.

Answer 30

Of course he should not be in trouble! Besides, the question was what NOT to eat for breakfast, and I am sure Beer is not a healthy choice.

You handled it perfectly. The teacher, on the other hand, could have used the joke as a intro to talk to the kids about healthy food.

Answer 31

Give Lynnnae  the 10 points , Thanks for the laugh!!