Ever since JR was about 8 months we have been regular uses of the local Methodist Church in various different ways. At 1st we only went to the Mom and baby group which is held there every week, it wasn’t long before we were welcomed into the church family and being invited to church events. Then when JR was 12 months old we decided that it was the right time to get him christened. As JR became a big brother to TP and then later to LA we joined the Sunday school that is attached to the Sunday morning service, and every week the children would learn a new bible story, prayer and hymn.
To me it is important that my children learn to be happy, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. As Christians for us that spirituality comes mainly from the church and the Bible, and no more so than this holiest of weeks leading up to the rising of Christ. However in order for my children to be completely happy mentally and spiritually they need to learn to be accepting of differences, religious and otherwise.
As a sensory child TP has been on the receiving end of differential non-acceptance, on more than one occasion, and as the parent of a sensory child so have I. I have lost count the number times I have heard comments remarking about my parenting skills during a meltdown, and TP has been called naughty to his face too.
What I really wish for as the tiny 3 grown into the not so tiny 3 is that they are all accepting of all beliefs, and make their own choices about what they want or don’t want to believe. I will not tell them that they should believe in Christ, the afterlife or anything else, I shall hopefully be a guiding hand when they need one on their journeys through life.
As for me I whenever I need a little up lift in my beliefs I remember this verse from my favourite poem Footprints:
My Precious child I love you and will never leave you
when you saw only one set of footprints
it was then that I carried you.
How do you teach your children about spirituality, I’d love to know. why not leave me a comment below.
Disclosure: This is a featured post.
It’s so complex now isn’t it? I love that the schools teach every religion, and that our children have the opportunity to question what’s right for them. But it does mean that we have to work hard as parents to help them embrace such a confusing aspect of their lives. Personally, I like to tell my children what I believe, and that they can decide for themselves, based on what they learn through life.
ah… they are the ones that usually teach me so who am I kiddin’ here? 🙂
Being someone that grew up in a church having had 2 parents that were ministers and not exactly believing all they thought me made me take the decision that I wouldn’t do the same to them. I’ll answer all their questions with the way I see things… and make sure they know that is MY point of view. I want them to make their own minds… take their own conclusions… My eldest is turning out to be quite the humanist like me… my middle one has just started to be exposed to jesus and god in the clouds and seems to be all he speaks abut these days… My attitude towards it? I let him do it… However, he does make his own mind over things and every once in a while he comes with little “this makes no sense” and questions… My youngest is too little for that still I guess… lets see… 🙂