Explanations to a 5 year old

[floppit]

What a beautiful quote! I especially like:

Those explorations required skepticism and imagination both. Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it, we go nowhere. Skepticism enables us to distinguish fancy from fact, to test our speculations. The Cosmos is rich beyond measure - in elegant facts, in exquisite interrelationships, in the subtle machinery of awe.

I'm not always so perky, I think this year I'm under the spell of the rocking zebra! I bought that specifically for imagination, so few things would allow an increasing field of dreams, it has a chance of meaning even more as she learns that there is such a place as Africa, wilderness.

[Deep Sea Isopod]

Can you imagine the conversation in the Mary and Joseph household?
M- "I'm pregnant"
J-"But I haven't fucked you"
M-"God did it"
J-"Oh, thats quite alright then"

"'If a man commits adultery with another man's wife both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death." (Leviticus 20:10)

[AshtonBlack]

My daughter goes to a Catholic School. She's been infected with the religious brain virus. However, I am arming her, not with counters to religion, but trying to teach he critical thinking and let he work it out for herself. I think this is a better strategy than a direct confrontation at he age. (she's 8).

[The Dawktor]

My daughter goes to a Catholic School. She's been infected with the religious brain virus. However, I am arming her, not with counters to religion, but trying to teach she critical thinking and let she work it out for herself. I think this is a better strategy than a direct confrontation at she age. (she's 8).

[Kristie]

My daughter has been sking questions about God lately. I'm never sure how much she understands when I try to explain things to her, but I still try. There's religion all around us, family and friends, so I don't want to wait too long before teaching her as much as I can. I just waited for her to start asking me questions. My husband is usually the one that can come up with answers for her questions, except when it comes to religion. It's difficult determining what they're ready to hear and what is just going to confuse them more.

[Twoflower]

My then 5 year old nephew asked me if his great grandpa was in heaven. I told him yes as he had just died Logan was still very upset by it.

[Xamonas Chegwé]

My then 5 year old nephew asked me if his great grandpa was in heaven. I told him yes as he had just died Logan was still very upset by it.

A difficult situation to be placed in. I can see why you answered as you did. I wouldn't have myself. But I wouldn't have just said, "No. There's no such place," either. I think I would have asked the child what he thought as a way of shifting the subject, and probably mentioned that nobody knows what happens after you die. I would certainly have pointed out that his great granddad lived on in the memories of Logan and everyone else that knew him and that he should think about him often and remember what he was like. Like I said though, not a nice question to have to answer from one so young.

[Thinking Aloud]

Offspring #1 has been learning christmas songs for his school's nativity play. Which is fine by me, as regardless of my views on religion, knowing at least something about the Christmas Story is probably essential general knowledge.

Anyway, he was singing one song to me a little while ago, and I said, "So what's it about then?"

"I think they were talking about god."

"Oh? Which one?"



But seriously I'd rather he knew what it was that everyone else was going on about, so long as he learns (at least from his parents) that as far as we're concerned, it's just a popular story and ancient tradition.

[Pappa]

My then 5 year old nephew asked me if his great grandpa was in heaven. I told him yes as he had just died Logan was still very upset by it.

A difficult situation to be placed in. I can see why you answered as you did. I wouldn't have myself. But I wouldn't have just said, "No. There's no such place," either. I think I would have asked the child what he thought as a way of shifting the subject, and probably mentioned that nobody knows what happens after you die. I would certainly have pointed out that his great granddad lived on in the memories of Logan and everyone else that knew him and that he should think about him often and remember what he was like. Like I said though, not a nice question to have to answer from one so young.

I would have probably fallen back on the... "I don't know. I don't think there's a heaven, but lots of people do. If there is a heaven I'm sure he's there".

Or maybe the... "I don't think there is a heaven, but he'll always be alive in our memories every time we think of him..... etc." - That's what I say to my own kids. Though Felix is an evangelical, woo-slaying, atheist crusader - so I just say it like it is to him nowadays.