Question about explaining religion to 5 year old

[Kilgore Trout]

My daughter didn't like going to chruch with my parents either.

To be honest, it's fairly creepy and weird if you haven't been habituated to it. The purity of a child's intuition is sometimes quite insightful.

 

[Magic Man]

thank you all for the advice I'm going to tell her what we believe and let her know about other religions as well what they believe so she has a big picture of what religion is

Yes, that is the way to go. You can teach her about Catholicism, but frame it as "some people believe..." instead of "this is all true...". As you say, just teach her that many different people believe many different things. Good luck.

 

[Rainbow Mage]

I suggest you perhaps explain to her, without giving all the details, that some people do believe a place exists where you are punished for wrong doings, but also explain other belief systems as well. There are books you can get for this sort of thing for all religions.

 

[linwood]

I'm not trying to be insulting, Linwood. I'm just trying to be realistic. 5 year olds really are in the preoperational stage. They can walk and talk and make sandwiches, they do appear to reason and understand, but if you actually test their cognitive abilities you'd be amazed at how undeveloped their formal reasoning, cognition, insight, &c are.

Most 5 year olds have not yet mastered seriation, classification, conservation, transitivity, reversibility or decentering. They're not able to abstract or comprehend hypotheticals like adults.

This isn't my opinion. It's Cognitive Development 101. Just Google.

Understood Seyorni but I think you`re speaking above and beyond the parameters of the OP.

A 5 year old child is unlikely to come home from his Christian friends house after a play date and ask you what you think of the effects certain presuppositions about the Q document have on theories of gospel doctrine.



The five year old is going to ask you how three different people can be one person at the same time they`re still three different people (Trinity).
He`s going to ask you if anyone has ever walked on water and how is it done.
He`s going to want to know if mom has a recipe for fish that can feed a multitude.



Children rarely attempt to learn beyond what they`re capable of thinking about.
Problems only arise when adults bring silly confusing concepts into their worlds before they are ready for them.

However, to say children aren`t capable of critical thinking involving concepts they do understand is just wrong.

Let the child lead your teaching and he/she can have some personal understanding at a very young age.

 

[Revoltingest]

I'm not trying to be insulting, Linwood. I'm just trying to be realistic. 5 year olds really are in the preoperational stage. They can walk and talk and make sandwiches, they do appear to reason and understand, but if you actually test their cognitive abilities you'd be amazed at how undeveloped their formal reasoning, cognition, insight, &c are.

Most 5 year olds have not yet mastered seriation, classification, conservation, transitivity, reversibility or decentering. They're not able to abstract or comprehend hypotheticals like adults.

This isn't my opinion. It's Cognitive Development 101. Just Google.

Dang...you know a lot of stuff. But I've known kids capable of more than you
expect. Maybe it's cuz they never took a course telling'm how limited they are.

 

[FluentYank3825]

Ok. Well my husband and I believe there is a God but we are not affiliated with any religion and we do not talk about religion in our house. Well our 5 year old went to my parents house for a week (they are Catholic and go to church) and of course they brought her to church. I did not know about that until she came home. Now she is asking me questions about God and different things about religion that I'm not sure what to say to her. I was raised Catholic but whenever I lived with my parents they forced religion on myself and my two sisters. Also we did not attend church very often so when I became an adult I got away from the catholic church and started attending non-denominational churches but once I met my husband I stopped attending church because he doesn't go to church or affiliate himself with any religion. Because of this, I don't know what to tell our daughter because I really don't want to bring up religion in the household because I know how my husband feels about it also I wouldn't know what to say because I don't want her to be deprived of learning about religion but I need advice on how to go about doing this. I would appreciate any suggestions.

The first religions she will investigate will inevitability be the ones in which her family members profess membership, as you have yourself have experienced. I agree soundly with Senedjem in that she should embark on a self-investigation of God and religion and pick the one she resonates most strongly with when she grows up. In the meantime, as she is still very young and is currently unable to fully understand any of the deep doctrines professed by her grandparents or yourself, I suggest a more ecletic approach. Don't force her but educate her in each over time, and as she matures, give her more freedom to expand her understanding, and when the time comes, respect whatever choice she makes.

 

[rachadelle]

I know that my daughter understands a lot more than most people give her credit for but I am going to teach her things about Catholicism, even though that is not my belief, when she is much older, not now. Here are my beliefs: I only believe in God (1) not (3) the holy trinity because I believe that Jesus was not the "Messiah" or "Savior" I believe he was just a messenger of God (prophet) just like Muhammad was for Islam but of course Jesus was for Christianity. Anyway I just believe that there is one God and that is it. I don't pray to Jesus well actually I don't pray at all but if I did pray I would pray to God and that is it. I don't believe in praying to Jesus, Mary, and all the saints like Catholicism teaches. I just believe if you do pray pray to God and thats it. That is like praying to multiple idols you know. Im not sure if I would be put into a category but that's all I know. I guess you could say my beliefs are scattered.

 

[Breathe]

It's wise you emphasise your own beliefs first. I understand your beliefs, because both my wife and my mother hold very similar views to you.

It sounds like you have quite a bit in common with Unitarian Universalism, and possibly Baha'i. You could also look at the Belief-o-Matic quiz and see what comes up, if it interests you? It depends if you want to pursue your spirituality further and maybe even find a local congregation that goes with your theological beliefs, or stay where you are.

Let me know how it goes teaching your daughter; since I'll be doing the same-ish sooner than I realize.

 

[Storm]

When it comes to broaching the topic of religion with kids, I can't recommend the Old Turtle books highly enough. They're well written and gorgeously illustrated, with beautiful messages of tolerance.

There are two that I know of, Old Turtle, and Old Turtle & the Broken Truth.

 

[linwood]

When it comes to broaching the topic of religion with kids, I can't recommend the Old Turtle books highly enough. They're well written and gorgeously illustrated, with beautiful messages of tolerance.

There are two that I know of, Old Turtle, and Old Turtle & the Broken Truth.

I will give these books a vote as well.

They are beautifully illustrated and make understanding seem easy and inevitable.

The Broken Truth is my favorite.

 

[Autodidact]

I'm not trying to be insulting, Linwood. I'm just trying to be realistic. 5 year olds really are in the preoperational stage. They can walk and talk and make sandwiches, they do appear to reason and understand, but if you actually test their cognitive abilities you'd be amazed at how undeveloped their formal reasoning, cognition, insight, &c are.

Most 5 year olds have not yet mastered seriation, classification, conservation, transitivity, reversibility or decentering. They're not able to abstract or comprehend hypotheticals like adults.

This isn't my opinion. It's Cognitive Development 101. Just Google.

Well yes but. You answer their questions as they ask, as best you can. Later they come back to it and built on it. They only take in what they can process and understand. Answering questions at the child's level is one of the arts of parenting. "You wouldn't understand" is not a good answer. Even if they don't really grasp what you're saying, if you convey the emotional vibe that it's O.K. for different people to believe different things, that will sink in and eventually form a foundation for tolerance.

 

[Autodidact]

When it comes to broaching the topic of religion with kids, I can't recommend the Old Turtle books highly enough. They're well written and gorgeously illustrated, with beautiful messages of tolerance.

There are two that I know of, Old Turtle, and Old Turtle & the Broken Truth.

Look neat. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Storm]

You're welcome!

 

[methylatedghosts]

Tell her that she should try to formulate her own ideas about god, like you do, or tell her to study religion and pick the one she thinks resonates most with her.

It's a great idea in theory, but it was my experience that kids need some guidance.

I think a good way to do it is a combination of Storm's suggestion and Senedjem's.

When we asked our parents about God or other beliefs in a general sense, like "Does God send people to hell?" the first response was always "What do you think?"

This allows kids to think about it, and lets them know that it's ok to come up with your own answers. Generally I think kids will have an answer all by themselves already, and just need a confirmation that it is ok to believe that way. Other questions like "What is a muslim?" or "Why do Hindus think such-and-such" you can be more specific with answers, saying "Well a muslim believes X Y and Z. This is different from Christians because of this reason, and different from Judaism for that reason" or "Hindus believe this way because they believe that xxxx".

Don't say "I don't know!" lol. Instead say something like "Well, how about this afternoon, you and I sit down together and see what we can find out about this." It's a good excuse to spend some quality time together and you can do a bit of learning yourself - parents have to know a lot of stuff to be able to answer everything!

 

[rachadelle]

Ok I have taken advice and I let my 5 year old daughter go to a non-denominational church with her godmother (my best friend) and she loved it there to the point where now she wants to go to church. The only problem is I don't know how to bring that up to my husband because she only told me. I wouldn't mind bring her to church but I just would rather it be a whole family thing instead of just me and my two children because I would take my youngest (she's 2) with me as well. How should I go about doing this? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[joy123]

Hi,
I am joy, i want to tell you that dont think about religion but only think about the words of god.

 

[Tarheeler]

I would go with teaching her about as many religions as you can in a "some people believe" style.

That approach has worked well for us as well.

We're raising our four kids in a family of varied religions, none of which are practiced in our house. I'm currently studying Judaism, and we've got Methodists, Baptists, Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Buddhists, and a Muslim all influencing the kids at the family level.

We answer their questions with "This is what I believe" followed with "and others believe this". It works well. They are exposed to many different views and are better for it.

My oldest two and I often debate religion and philosophy for hours. It's exhilarating to see your kids form their own opinions and beliefs and then be able to defend their positions.

 

[Tiapan]

Tell her the truth. The universe is a complex and beautiful place, the laws of chemistry and physics appear universal, as a consequence of time and increasing complexity intriguing systems such as societies and minds like ourselves have evolved. Many questions are as yet unanswered. So seek the truth continuously, a difficult process. If they are lazy just give them the god myth as the cure all to questions of the too-hard category, as humans have done for thousands of years.

Cheers

 

[FluentYank3825]

That approach has worked well for us as well.

We're raising our four kids in a family of varied religions, none of which are practiced in our house. I'm currently studying Judaism, and we've got Methodists, Baptists, Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Buddhists, and a Muslim all influencing the kids at the family level.

We answer their questions with "This is what I believe" followed with "and others believe this". It works well. They are exposed to many different views and are better for it.

My oldest two and I often debate religion and philosophy for hours. It's exhilarating to see your kids form their own opinions and beliefs and then be able to defend their positions.

This eclectic theological family arrangement is so cool! It sounds more fun than having just a single system of religious thought dominating the home atmosphere, with any different ideas being looked down upon. Kudos to you!

...The universe is a complex and beautiful place, the laws of chemistry and physics appear universal, as a consequence of time and increasing complexity intriguing systems such as societies and minds like ourselves have evolved. Many questions are as yet unanswered. So seek the truth continuously, a difficult process. If they are lazy just give them the god myth as the cure all to questions of the too-hard category, as humans have done for thousands of years.

Cheers

Very true statements, Tiapan. Very well said.

 

[the_pranjal]

in my opnion let her know what is god and what is satan....teach her that one who is breathing in her is god. God resides inside of her heart not outside towards the sky. satan dwell in the mind which always distracts us from our god..it will direct her to search god outside in different shapes and places.....in the process creating her ego for doing so much in search of god. Ego brings anger, violence,rage,jealousy...and these qualities constituents hell....becoming self-aware of the inner world,where god resides brings joy,silience,blissfulness,compasson...and this constituents heaven....say her following own way of life with the god hidden inside.....is the religion.........