How do you raise your child as a buddist in a way they can understand?

Question

Most of the "tools" out there is geared toward christian kids or just kids in general.

Answer 1

Hmm, good question. I think you can just live it, the philosophy part anyway. If they ask you a question about life, just answer it as a buddhist, no attachment, seeing various sides of the issue, getting to the root of what the issue is actually about, etc...

Then when they are older, you can see if they are interested in your religion.

Answer 2

In my opinion, you should raise your child just as any other parent would, and incorporate the buddhist beliefs that you believe in in a positive light, as everyday lessons or personal morals that you think your child should have as a buddhist.

Instead of trying to 'force/inflict' your buddhist belief in your child, just simply teach him/her the lessons of buddhist teaching that he/she can understand, eg: Not harming living animals as it would hurt them and cause them pain, etc in a non-complicated way, it may ensure that they can understand as a kind person themselves, and as a buddhist.

I am quite certain that if you raise your child as a buddhist in a way that they can understand, the 'tools' geared towards kids will not be needed. The 'tools' serve the purpose of helping children understand their religion at their young age, something that you can do as a parent. Just keep in mind that your child is not the same age as you are, and thus will take more time/effort to understand. Give your child time to understand your buddhist beliefs, keep the teachings simple, and in time he/she will. Just have patience.

You could also involve your child in buddhist-related activities (its better if its more hands-on) such as daily prayers, doing charity/voluntary work for buddhist-related reasons, etc. Through this your child may be able to grasp the buddhist teachings in another light.

Apologies if I offended anyone, buddhists in particular, as I am not too familiar with buddhist teachings, despite my parents being buddhists themselves. Hope this helps!

Answer 3

I send my children to Buddhist Dhamma school every Sunday.This school is run by volunteers from our Buddhist centre.
I suggest that you get your Buddhist friends together and start with a small group.