23 Nov 05
I'm an athiest, but I have a 5 year old daughter who is driving me crazy!!! For the last six months she has been going on about baby Jesus, and I mean non-stop!!! All her teddies and dollies are now called Jesus and all her games include Jesus.
Her grandmother brought her a Noahs ark (Thanks mum) for her birthday, which she will not put away. She was given a book of bible stories by someone and that is what she wants me tp read to her every night. Now to top it all she came home from school today and got down on her knees to pray!!!!!!
What on earth do I do? Do I explain that God doesn't exist or should I let her have her own opinion and discover in her own time what is real and what is not. The school is not a religious one, and no-one in my family believes in God so I don't know where she is getting all this rubbish from.
Any advice appreciated.
23 Nov 05
Originally posted by bambeeI say let her have her own beliefs, even as young as she is. Forcing your own personal beliefs on your daughter won't help at all, and it might actually drive a wedge between you two and make the relationship an unpleasant one. This might be just a phase in her life, and you've got to let her try and figure this out for herself. Sure, you can calmly explain your side of the issue, but if she decides to not listen and continue on her own path, don't press the issue. Try and be as supportive as possible, without driving yourself crazy in the process. However, if it gets completely out of hand, and it sounds as if it's nearing that stage, then I would seriously suggest taking her to a mental specialist, because it's not normal for 5-year olds to be this devoted to religion.
I'm an athiest, but I have a 5 year old daughter who is driving me crazy!!! For the last six months she has been going on about baby Jesus, and I mean non-stop!!! All her teddies and dollies are now called Jesus and all her games include Jesus.
Her grandmother brought her a Noahs ark (Thanks mum) for her birthday, which she will not put away. She was give ...[text shortened]... s in God so I don't know where she is getting all this rubbish from.
Any advice appreciated.
23 Nov 05
Originally posted by Wildfiregood advice
I say let her have her own beliefs, even as young as she is. Forcing your own personal beliefs on your daughter won't help at all, and it might actually drive a wedge between you two and make the relationship an unpleasant one. This might be just a phase in her life, and you've got to let her try and figure this out for herself. Sure, you can calmly expla ...[text shortened]... to a mental specialist, because it's not normal for 5-year olds to be this devoted to religion.
23 Nov 05
Originally posted by bambeeCrusify the dolls
I'm an athiest, but I have a 5 year old daughter who is driving me crazy!!! For the last six months she has been going on about baby Jesus, and I mean non-stop!!! All her teddies and dollies are now called Jesus and all her games include Jesus.
Her grandmother brought her a Noahs ark (Thanks mum) for her birthday, which she will not put away. She was give ...[text shortened]... s in God so I don't know where she is getting all this rubbish from.
Any advice appreciated.
23 Nov 05
Originally posted by bambeeI think you should let her have her own beliefs and let her learn as much as she wants about religeon. That way, when she's old enough, at least she can make an informed decision. Would it really be such a bad thing if she chose to believe in God? Aside from her becoming a religeous fanatic and joining a cult or something, what's really the downside?
I'm an athiest, but I have a 5 year old daughter who is driving me crazy!!! For the last six months she has been going on about baby Jesus, and I mean non-stop!!! All her teddies and dollies are now called Jesus and all her games include Jesus.
Her grandmother brought her a Noahs ark (Thanks mum) for her birthday, which she will not put away. She was give ...[text shortened]... s in God so I don't know where she is getting all this rubbish from.
Any advice appreciated.
23 Nov 05
1 edit
Originally posted by bambeeI'm an athiest too, so I don't believe in the nuts and bolts of religion, but I acknowledge that the idea of religion has certain psychological and social benefits. For one thing, it's nice to think that "Jesus has your back" when you're being trod upon, and you will have rewards in the next life if you're a nice guy, etc... It also stops people from stealing their neighbour's wife while swearing at their freshly murdered parents, etc... Of course, it has its drawbacks too, like the way it allows people to believe a lie your whole life and (in the case of Catholicism) admonishing you to hate gay people (I know, hate the sin and not the sinner, yada-yada-yada, although it's difficult to discriminate against a sin without discriminating against the person) simply because they like a hot sausage instead of a fish taco.
I'm an athiest, but I have a 5 year old daughter who is driving me crazy!!! For the last six months she has been going on about baby Jesus, and I mean non-stop!!! All her teddies and dollies are now called Jesus and all her games include Jesus.
Her grandmother brought her a Noahs ark (Thanks mum) for her birthday, which she will not put away. She was give ...[text shortened]... s in God so I don't know where she is getting all this rubbish from.
Any advice appreciated.
In the case of your daughter, she's probably a bit young to appreciate the nuances and implications of subscribing to a religion, and just likes the stories, especially if they come in pop-up book form. Plus, Christmas is just around the corner so she's probably hearing the word "Jesus", or at least "Jesus Christ!!" 10 times a day. Maybe she has friends from religious families? Who knows. But I'll bet you 10 to 1 it's just a phase. When she finds out how much church is involved, she'll drop it like a hot rock.
It's probably OK to let her "play apostle" for now, just when she asks questions try to be honest with her. Don't attack Jesus per se (kids hate that, it makes baby Jesus cry), but explain what you think about religion, what problems you have, what questions you have about it that can't be answered correctly/adequately, etc... Remember, teaching isn't about providing or dictating all the answers, but about making your students/children curious enough to find out the answers for themselves.
Hope that helps! I'll pray for you, even though we both know it won't do any good.
