Thursday 30 May 2013

Bringing up Children

Dear diary,
                         I am worried for my children.

I promised myself before Kirsty and Katie were born that I would never be the kind of parent to force my own beliefs onto my children, as my parents did to me, and I am not. Believe me, I am not. However, all the same I feel that my daughters are too young to be making an important decision about faith by themselves.They are ten and eleven years old, and I don't feel they know enough about the world's religions to be able to make awell-informed choice and to stray away from Christianity. Both John and I felt that a strict Roman Catholic school might stifle them, so we did not send them to one, but now I am wondering if this was a mistake.
Also...well, I admit, this isn't all just about them. It's about me too. Catholicism is all I have ever known. If they turn to Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, or any other religion? I'm not ignorant, I do have a working knowledge of most of the biggest religions in the world today, but I am by no means an expert. I won't be able to guide them through it, help them, show them what they must do, because it is simply not something that I have experience in. That thought scares me very much.
Futhermore, the fact is that religious discrimination is everywhere in today's world. I have not experienced it firsthand myself, I admit, but I see it everyday and there is not a thing that I, myself, as one person, can do about it. I want the best for my children and cannot bear the thought of allowing them to take their own religious route knowing full well what they are exposing themselves to. People can be cruel. I do not want my children to lead a life of being insulted, blamed, discriminated against because I did not give them enough guidance when they were young. 
Ultimately, if my children choose to follow a religion that is different from mine, it is their choice, and it is okay. But I worry about the consequences.

1 comment:

  1. A very interesting topic you've picked here - and a thoughtful reflection.

    I think this is a tough choice for parents if they decide to not impose their faith on their children. It would be interesting to hear a reflection from the children, how do they feel?

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