My 1st grader was doing some sight word practice and she sounded out good as "God". I told her that the word is good, but decided to ask if she knows what God is. "No". I explained a little, realizing how hard it really is to explain who God is. It's abstract-- and as I was talking I was wondering if at 6 she's already inoculated against religious ideas. I talked to her about when I was her age, I learned how to pray and what I prayed for. She was frightened. She said she would just ask for Mom or Dad's help if she needed it. She told me she doesn't want to do it. I wasn't suggesting that she should try, so I told her she doesn't need to do anything that makes her uncomfortable. I haven't brought up anything religious; in fact, in another thread I talked about emailing my youngest's preschool teacher about using Jesus on her calendar.

*Why is it important to bring God up? I suppose it'll be to teach her my view before a friend or well-meaning relative says something to upset her.
*How can I bring it up?
Suggestions and advice is appreciated, thank you!

I would bring it up as an inoculation. The concept of God is one of the best control strategies ever invented by man and your child should know what that is all about just like they should know about kidnappers and looking both ways before crossing the street. They are going to come across God as the main reason for so many people's actions and need to know what that is all about.

I would have a fun chat about how many Gods different civilizations and tribes and ethnicities have had since the dawn of time. You can find it all easily on google. Start with the God of Thunder and work down from there. The Greek gods, the Roman gods, the Egyptian gods, and on down the line landing on Mormon Heavenly Father now duking it out with Mohammad while Buddha peacefully watches from a distance and L. Ron Hubbard the God of Scientology counts his money.

Everyone thinks their God is the best and the only true God and the other 25,000 are fakes. That is a good viewpoint.

You could discuss the various creation myths of aboriginal peoples. There are some good ones among the Native American tribes. Given that the Hopi aren't bombing anyone at the moment (or ever in recorded history), their myth could be less far fetched than the Judeo Christian one.

That people argue and disagree over religion is a great example of why critical thinking skills are important.

I like Bradley's idea.

There are lots of books for children about mythology. Once she sees the variety of gods from many cultures, perhaps she will be open to the role the gods play in the cultures.

I am a Christian and I teach my 8-year old daughter about God and Jesus. We attend a non-denominational church once in awhile and pray every night before bed.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2016 08:10PM by rubi123.

I would give let her know something about the higher power or God. Teaching her nothing would be irresponsible, kind of like the way the Mormons don't teach sex-ed to kids. And it's all a big mystery. Knowledge is power. None of us live a perfect life, and if she ever gets in a bind, she should know that she can ask for help if she wants to.

We teach our kids that God is a mythical being that some people believe in. There is no evidence for God any more than there is for Zeus or Odin.

We talk a lot about science, critical thinking and evaluating evidence.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2016 09:39PM by excatholic.

Interesting topic. When we(nevermo) moved to Utah in 1993, my daughter was just entering the 2nd grade. Shortly before Christmas that year, she came home one afternoon after school and exclaimed, "Mommy! Did you know that Christmas is Jesus' birthday?" I instantly wondered if I had been an irresponsible parent, as we had never attended a church of any kind, nor, I quickly realized, had I ever spoken to her about the reason that Christmas is celebrated.

I haven't brought up the religious sides of Easter or Christmas. It's easy to just go with the mainstream/commercialized traditions of the holidays. That's cute how excited she was about it!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2016 10:08PM by hausfrau.

The kids might find it fun to know those holidays started a Pagan holidays to celebrate the solstices long before the Christians tacked Jesus onto them. It is actually all very interesting just from an educational point of view.

I went with the good ol' "When they learn Santa Claus is a myth, let them know so is ghawd" system.

Santa Claus has a better chance of showing up...

So they learn that people lie,especially for control, even if they don't know they are.

I've never seen a title express such bias. The title should be "Should you teach children about the concept of "god"? If you THINK yes, how? If you think you shouldn't, why not?"

Instead your title asserts that there is a god and then only asks for instructions affirming that assumption.

My answer would be that you should teach a child about god as much as you should teach them about the tooth fairy, or santa claus, or unicorns.

I have told my children what I believe and why but more importantly: I have told them that it is only MY belief and as they grow older they will have to find out for themselves what they personally believe or trust in, or don't.

My children are all grown up now and we are not believers but I didn't hammer atheism into their heads ;-)

I explained that some people believe that there is some sort of superior, supernatural being that they call god who, they think, governs everything, but that I didn't believe that, even though it was what I was taught at their age.

I also said that you didn't need to believe in god to be a good person, as evidenced by myself and their mother who are both very moral people, "despite" our atheism.

That certainly helped them to ridicule some of their muslim classmates later on when they asked "if you don't believe in god, how can you know what's right and what's wrong?"

Their answer? "Use your brain, it's not very difficult"

My personal view is that they don't need the complication of theology at that age ;-)

Tom in Paris

Edited to add: I also agree with anonuk that it's important to make it clear, as I did, that this is only my opinion and that they didn't have to follow it.

Nevertheless, they haven't become religious (or even very interested in religion, like me)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2016 06:52AM by Soft Machine.

Because "God" is a word we use to describe the vast majority of the universe which is an eternal mystery, but a mystery that is beginning to be revealed.

"Yes I believe in God, if by the word, 'god' you mean the embodiment of the immutable laws that govern the universe." Sagan

I'm starting to realize that I did not give Carl Sagan his due credit while he was still alive.

I believe you should try to instill the values in your children that you adhere to and believe in yourself. If you are true to your convictions and beliefs, and want to raise your children to be the same as in moral and ethical human beings then if God is important to you I see that as wanting it to matter to your children as well.

I've continued to believe in God after leaving Mormonism. I've participated in various religions, without joining any of them. What mattered to me was they offered fellowshipping, classes on the bible and instructions for living a moral life.

The aspect of fellowshipping was still an important part of my faith walk after leaving Mormonism. So I continued that tradition with my children.

I respect their independence and right to self-govern now they're adults. They know I still pray, continue to worship somewhere, and that I still believe in a deity/higher power and live by faith.

It was important enough to me to want to share that with my children.

Once grown they have to find their own way in this life, and I have had to let go and trust my higher power to lean on, not my own understanding, of watching over them like it has me.

I didn't teach my children about imaginary mythical magical men in the sky. Or any other kind of imagined "god" thing. I don't see any "need" to fill their head full of nonsense.

Instead I taught them to think critically, to demand evidence for claims (ALL claims) and not just "believe" them, and to discard claims without any supporting evidence (like "god" claims).

There's no evidence there's a "god." That doesn't mean there ISN'T one (there could be), but there's no evidence of one. So if there is one, it's not one that makes a damn bit of difference to anything we do in our lives -- so the idea has zero merit.

I really loved learning about the Jewish philosophy of living for today, and doing right now rather than preparing for the end times or the hereafter.

In Judaism it's how well one lives their life that matters, not speculating on what comes after.