I had a lovely baby girl in the spring. I'm not religious however I live in the Uk, nominally a "christian" country.
What would you advise in regard to religious teaching. My aunt wanted to buy her a copy of "my first bible" which was a bit scary.
We have decided not to feed her meat or fish her meat until she is old enough to decide whether she wants to eat animals.
Is it feasible not feed her any religious doctorine until she's old enough to decide for herself?
Originally posted by invigorateCertainly, since you are obviously not heavily indoctrinated, it should be of no matter to allow your child to develop her own sense of spirituality. Guiding her on the generic values of how to be a good human being are of primary importance.
I had a lovely baby girl in the spring. I'm not religious however I live in the Uk, nominally a "christian" country.
What would you advise in regard to religious teaching. My aunt wanted to buy her a copy of "my first bible" which was a bit scary.
We have decided not to feed her meat or fish her meat until she is old enough to decide whether s ...[text shortened]... it feasible not feed her any religious doctorine until she's old enough to decide for herself?
Originally posted by invigorateCan you maintain neutrality about religion vs. non-religion and between religions so you don't bias your child one way or another?
I had a lovely baby girl in the spring. I'm not religious however I live in the Uk, nominally a "christian" country.
What would you advise in regard to religious teaching. My aunt wanted to buy her a copy of "my first bible" which was a bit scary.
We have decided not to feed her meat or fish her meat until she is old enough to decide whether s ...[text shortened]... it feasible not feed her any religious doctorine until she's old enough to decide for herself?
Originally posted by lucifershammerI may be rude about the quality of the singing in the congregation of the church opposite.
Are you going to feed her anti-religious doctrine in the meanwhile? Can you maintain neutrality about religion vs. non-religion and between religions so you don't bias your child one way or another?
It is my intention to avoid religion unless directly asked. I would like to base my answers on fact. But already we are stumbling on some problems as facts and religion are somewhat blurred.
I certainly don't want her to be scared of some Holy Ghost!
Originally posted by invigorateHow old do you think your child will need to be to make up her own mind?
I may be rude about the quality of the singing in the congregation of the church opposite.
It is my intention to avoid religion unless directly asked. I would like to base my answers on fact. But already we are stumbling on some problems as facts and religion are somewhat blurred.
I certainly don't want her to be scared of some Holy Ghost!
Originally posted by invigorateYour example comparing (in a sense) religion with vegetarianism strikes me as a bit odd. Will she be able to eat meat afterwards after (say) 15 years of vegetarianism?
I had a lovely baby girl in the spring. I'm not religious however I live in the Uk, nominally a "christian" country.
What would you advise in regard to religious teaching. My aunt wanted to buy her a copy of "my first bible" which was a bit scary.
We have decided not to feed her meat or fish her meat until she is old enough to decide whether s ...[text shortened]... it feasible not feed her any religious doctorine until she's old enough to decide for herself?
You may incur in a different problem with religion if you abstain from "feeding" her a doctrine. I would explain things naturally as they come, if my children decide to be atheists, like me, I would even consider it a positive education (considering my perspective).
The key idea is not "feeding" her, but informing her. There's no such thing as a perfect neutrality but absence of information can be even worse...
Anyway, my basic idea is that you don't necessarily have to brainwash when you educate.
Holy Cow this makes me crazy. I do not have kids of my own so some of you will dismiss me out of hand but I was a kid not long ago and feel I can speak with modest authority on this subject.
Look, you are her father, tell her what you believe and for God's sake don't hide your opinions about things from her. If you are Catholic take her to mass, if you are agnostic explain it to her when she asks, if you worship Satan tell her about your love of Satan, if you ware clogs...well, just stop.
Parents seem to think they need to hide their beliefs from their kids in order to not "bias" them against one thing or another and it is totally unnecessary. Teach your daughter to think, man. Place value on critical thinking in your family and when she is ready she will be questioning even your most fervently held beliefs.
Parents seem to think they will be the only influence on their kid for all eternity and it just isn't so. She will meet tons of Christians and Jews and hippies and yuppies over the course of her life and if you raise her right she will be curious about all of them. If you raise her right she will think critically about all of them. if you raise her right she will know that you love her whether she believes the same things you do or not.
My parents raised me as a staunch conservative Baptist but they also taught me to think for myself and now I'm a yellow dog democrat with a severe distrust of religion. Was it easy to get from where I started to where I am now? No...but should it have been? I would not change a thing.
TheSkipper
Originally posted by invigorateCongrats and I am going through a similiar situation now with my two plus year old daughter although not really yet.
I had a lovely baby girl in the spring. I'm not religious however I live in the Uk, nominally a "christian" country.
What would you advise in regard to religious teaching. My aunt wanted to buy her a copy of "my first bible" which was a bit scary.
We have decided not to feed her meat or fish her meat until she is old enough to decide whether s ...[text shortened]... it feasible not feed her any religious doctorine until she's old enough to decide for herself?
I am Agnostic as my wife is and I used to be a hardcore Christian/Catholic basher. Although I still don't believe in those religions as well as any other, I have softened up a bit and I do have some very good religious friends.
All life is about for my kid is Barney, Care Bears, and Dora the Explorer but I am sure religion is coming. I think my wife and I are going to try our best to help her sort things out for herself even though she may not be fully mentally equipped to do so yet. I am sure your daughter will amaze you with how smart she is.
I also say, so that she is not an outcast, that perhaps she should just "go with the flow" of things for now until you are satisfied that she can make up her own mind and is able to stick to her guns. Obviously that is probably some years away but just some food for thought.