If you believe, when do you start to introduce?

[soccermama]

This may or may not be the right forum for something like this, but I wanted to get opinions on if you believe in a higher power, when did you or when will you introduce this to your LO especially around the Christmas holiday?
DS will be 3 in January and really didn't understand who Santa was, what presents were all about, etc., until this year. It's so much fun to watch him get excited about lights and seeing Santa, so I didn't want to confuse him or overwhelm him with anything else at the moment, but I was wondering at what age should we also include other things that Christmas represents.

[mclisa]

now.

My kids are introduced before they even know what is going on. They go to church as newborns. Then we begin reading simplified books too. My kids also start Sunday school once they are 3.

[octobermom]

Birth really.. Our Daughter has always been with us for Church we pray as a family so while shes just now learning to repeat and say some of her own (that make sense) shes always been exposed. At diffrent times shes come up with diffrent questions and we answer as best we can.

Deanna

[jmmom]

I think the sooner the better. We pray multiple times a day with ds, and he loves to kiss icons. So it seems like now would be a fine time for you to introduce other aspects of Christmas, if those are the beliefs that you hold.

[anywaybecause]

I think this is a good time to start. We've kept it simple at first, and gotten more into the complexities as our dds get older and more able to comprehend nuances. At first, we said that Christmas was when Jesus was born, and he was so special and tried so hard to teach people to love each other that we still celebrate his birthday every year, even though he lived so long ago. The overall idea that we wanted to get across was that Christmas isn't really about stuff, it's about love. *Very* simple, perhaps overly simple, but they've seemed to grow a little each year in their understanding of the true meaning. We talk about it a lot, too, when we watch the holiday specials ("Oh, dear! The Grinch doesn't seem to understand that Christmas isn't about presents, does he? I hope he figures it out!").

Just my $.02

[caitryn]

From birth. I am Christian, so I do things like sing "Amazing Grace" and "Jesus Loves the Little Children" to DS. I talk to him even though he doesn't understand the meaning of my words yet, but he'll grow up recognizing names and such. My mom is also getting him his own children's Bible which I plan to use for bedtime stories and such. If we can get our car fixed anytime soon, we're planning to start taking him to church as well.

[Phantaja]

I don't remember not having God around, and my family wasn't even particularly religious. He is just a part of life, like Mom and Dad, air and water. There was never an "introduction." He just is.

I'd make it as simple as "We celebrate Christmas because of Jesus being born. That's God's little boy just like you're my little boy. Santa comes around because it's Christmas."

[Cherie2]

I started when they started asking questions. I told them my beliefs and was sure to let them know that other people had other beliefs and that they were free to think and believe what they wanted to.

Children are not able to cognitively comprehend a "higher power" until around age 13 anyway so before that its all philosophical exploration.

[Smokering]

Children are not able to cognitively comprehend a "higher power" until around age 13 anyway so before that its all philosophical exploration.

Saywhat? I don't remember not comprehending God as a higher power--in its simplest form it's not that difficult a concept. And philosophical exploration is cognitive.

DD's only 9 months, but Christianity is just the air we breathe--she'll always know that we go to church and pray, and I'm assuming everything else will flow pretty naturally from that.

[Cherie2]

Originally Posted by Smokering

Saywhat? I don't remember not comprehending God as a higher power--in its simplest form it's not that difficult a concept. And philosophical exploration is cognitive.

DD's only 9 months, but Christianity is just the air we breathe--she'll always know that we go to church and pray, and I'm assuming everything else will flow pretty naturally from that.

Its just a process of brain development - you can talk about and say you believe in something but to really understand it your brain has to develop enough to process it.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Piaget

Formal operational stage
The formal operational period is the fourth and final of the periods of cognitive development in Piaget's theory. This stage, which follows the Concrete Operational stage, commences at around 12 years of age (puberty) and continues into adulthood. It is characterized by acquisition of the ability to think abstractly, reason logically and draw conclusions from the information available. During this stage the young adult is able to understand such things as love, "shades of gray", logical proofs, and values. Lucidly, biological factors may be traced to this stage as it occurs during puberty (the time at which another period of neural pruning occurs), marking the entry to adulthood in Physiology, cognition, moral judgment (Kohlberg), Psychosexual development (Freud), and psychosocial development (Erikson).

[Natsuki]

Originally Posted by octobermom

Birth really.. Our Daughter has always been with us for Church we pray as a family so while shes just now learning to repeat and say some of her own (that make sense) shes always been exposed. At diffrent times shes come up with diffrent questions and we answer as best we can.

Deanna

Ditto this. I start talking to my DC about God and our beliefs in the womb when I pray for them. I bring them to church from infancy, talk about what we're doing (singing, praying, worshipping, etc...) even before they can speak. Understanding of who God is and what we believe will unfold gradually as they develop - but it will always be a spiritual presence in their lives and I don't want to 'wait' until some specific age to begin introducing them to it - I want it woven into how our family lives so that it surrounds them in an integrated way.

[soccermama]

I've grown up in a mixture of Methodist, Southern Baptist and now Catholic homes. God has always been a part of my life - moreso when I was a teenager, but he has still always been there in some shape or form. I would like to pass that along and teach my child about who He is especially around this time of year. He LOVES books, so I was going to pick up an age appropriate book on my way home from work today. I'm excited to share this with him!

[Smokering]

Its just a process of brain development - you can talk about and say you believe in something but to really understand it your brain has to develop enough to process it.

Are you saying it's biologically impossible for a <12-year-old to grasp the idea of a higher power? I'm not an expert on this, but I'm pretty sure I was abstractly reasoning before then--I certainly knew about love and God and morals and beauty and other such abstract things. Don't most kids? What exactly is the distinction between 'saying and thinking you understand it' and 'understanding it properly', according to this theory? (Sorry, this is kind of OT, but I've never heard of this theory before. I know the ability to reason logically isn't generally the strong point of preteens, but kids can grasp abstract concepts amazingly early from what I've seen).

[Cherie2]

Originally Posted by Smokering

Are you saying it's biologically impossible for a <12-year-old to grasp the idea of a higher power? I'm not an expert on this, but I'm pretty sure I was abstractly reasoning before then--I certainly knew about love and God and morals and beauty and other such abstract things. Don't most kids? What exactly is the distinction between 'saying and thinking you understand it' and 'understanding it properly', according to this theory? (Sorry, this is kind of OT, but I've never heard of this theory before. I know the ability to reason logically isn't generally the strong point of preteens, but kids can grasp abstract concepts amazingly early from what I've seen).

I am not going to sit here and say anything is impossible (I have lived too long and seen too much to make that kind of assertion lol) but I have studied child development and also know from my own spiritual development that it takes a certain physical brain maturity to be able to comprehend such abstracts. Here are a couple of references:



http://www.healthofchildren.com/C/Co...velopment.html

Second, during the passage into adolescence, individuals become better able to think about abstract ideas. For example, adolescents find it easier than children to comprehend the sorts of higher-order, abstract logic inherent in puns, proverbs, metaphors, and analogies. The adolescent's greater facility with abstract thinking also permits the application of advanced reasoning and logical processes to social and ideological matters. This is clearly seen in the adolescent's increased facility and interest in thinking about interpersonal relationships, politics, philosophy, religion, and morality.

http://blogs.psychologytoday.com/blo...in-the-child-5

Finally, in adolescence, young people attain a new level of mental ability that allows them think in abstractions and to create ideals and contrary to fact propositions. It is the idealism of youth, their ability to think of the possibility of a world without war, poverty, or prejudice that accounts for the rebelliousness of youth. Likewise, all theologies are idealistic and urge their adherents to live according to the highest moral standards, the Ten Commandments are a case in point.

Growing up I was never instructed on a religious level by my parents. At age 13 I had an epiphany and suddenly my spirituality was alive in me. And I was very grateful for this because so many people I met were turned against religion entirely because they grew up with it being forced upon them throughout their childhood.

[MOMYS]

Our very lives are centered around God, so our kids just grow in it, always....

[cappuccinosmom]

From birth.

No, they don't "comprehend" it in an adult way. Do adults even have the capacity to comprehend and all-knowing, all powerful, all loving, perfect God?

We have advent calendars, kid-friendly nativities, they participate in church plays and go to services with us, we read the Christmas story and related Bible verses, sing special Christmas hymns, etc.

I know that my 3 and 5 yo haven't cemented the concept in their heads, but they have a pretty decent understanding of what Christmas is about.

[TzippityDoulah]

as soon as they are born. it's a part of our daily life, and our holiday life. it isn't something that would be easily avoided. its just a part of who we are. it's ike not letting them in on the fact that we are Christians until they are older... I think they might pick up on it

[TzippityDoulah]

Originally Posted by cappuccinosmom

From birth.

No, they don't "comprehend" it in an adult way. Do adults even have the capacity to comprehend and all-knowing, all powerful, all loving, perfect God?

We have advent calendars, kid-friendly nativities, they participate in church plays and go to services with us, we read the Christmas story and related Bible verses, sing special Christmas hymns, etc.

I know that my 3 and 5 yo haven't cemented the concept in their heads, but they have a pretty decent understanding of what Christmas is about.

I liked this answer

[Tracy]

Curiously, I was sort of born atheist and then as I grew older maybe in my teens became agnostic...and then in my 20's believed in God. But I remember clearly not buying the Jesus story when I was very little. My mother was stunned by my reaction to bible class. I said clear as day, "I don't believe the story of Jesus." all rather strange now when I think about it.

[theretohere]

At birth. We're a really religious family and my kids start weekly church attendance at birth. We read a Children's Bible to them nightly, as well as family devotions. My 4.5 year old has weekly memory work assigned by the Sunday School program.
I don't think it's ever too early to introduce.