My 11 year old spends 50% of his time with an anti-science and anti-vaccine family. Single parent me (in Ohio) doesn’t have a lot of support when I’ve tried to help fight some of those thoughts he’s been brainwashed with in the name of religion. I’m christian, but his other household is extremists. “You believe in science too much” and “cavemen never existed” are things he’s said in the last year. He’s a straight A very smart child, he’s just been brainwashed and I want to try to help him before it gets worse.
What kinds of shows, books, documentaries can I expose him too to make him think more critically about some of these things so he understands science is real and vaccines work?
He does get into Veritasium on YouTube, so I feel like that’s a step in the right direction for science and critical thinking.
You put it exactly right - she’s been brainwashed by religious nonsense and bigotry her whole life, like so many people of the world. There’s no bigger form of child endangerment than being anti-vax, and this person should be reported to child protective services. She is a real danger to your kid.
I would not let my child anywhere near such a mentally ill person. She won’t believe she’s mentally ill, and probably will never get the help she sorely needs - but you can protect your own kid and show him that there are good people who trust science and want their kids to be healthy and well vaccinated.
I hope you will go out of your way to avoid this other family. Just the very childishly stupid belief that “cavemen never existed” would be enough to drive me away from this incredibly screwed up person and never want to have any affiliation with them ever again.
I know, at least in my country, anti-vax indoctrination does count as clear and present danger, and while you probably wouldn’t outright get full custody, you could potentially get an injunction against anti-vax indoctrination.
Yeah, here, your rights to religiously indoctrinate your children are protected by our charter of rights. Anti-vax beliefs, on the other hand, certainly wouldn’t fall under that purview.
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You put it exactly right - she’s been brainwashed by religious nonsense and bigotry her whole life, like so many people of the world. There’s no bigger form of child endangerment than being anti-vax, and this person should be reported to child protective services. She is a real danger to your kid.
I would not let my child anywhere near such a mentally ill person. She won’t believe she’s mentally ill, and probably will never get the help she sorely needs - but you can protect your own kid and show him that there are good people who trust science and want their kids to be healthy and well vaccinated.
I hope you will go out of your way to avoid this other family. Just the very childishly stupid belief that “cavemen never existed” would be enough to drive me away from this incredibly screwed up person and never want to have any affiliation with them ever again.
Sure you wouldn’t 🤣
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I know, at least in my country, anti-vax indoctrination does count as clear and present danger, and while you probably wouldn’t outright get full custody, you could potentially get an injunction against anti-vax indoctrination.
Sadly I doubt this is true of the US.
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Yeah, here, your rights to religiously indoctrinate your children are protected by our charter of rights. Anti-vax beliefs, on the other hand, certainly wouldn’t fall under that purview.