if you took your child to church every Sunday and he/she?

Question

came up to you one day and said i just don't believe i don't want to go anymore, what would you do?

Answer 1

say who cares ur going

Answer 2

That would depend on the age of the child. It is the parents responsibility to pass on the values and moral beliefs that believe in and has been passed on to them.

Once a child has reached a certain age they can keep or reject as many of the values and morals as they see fit.

The age ole axiom still apply in most house holds today. "As long as you are under my roof you will open the rules of the house." If the rules of the house is that family members attend church together no matter your feelings then that is something you will have to do until you are no longer in the house.

It is sort of like doing chores, simply because you don't want to do certain or any chores does not relieve you of doing them.

Unfortunately families are not democracies and never will be, because of rebelious children. There are time when reason and rhyme does not work and another age ole axiom comes in to play " Do as I say since I am the adult and you are the child."

You might ask if in addition to attending the services with your family, if it is ok to explore other religions or sects? Be mature in discussing these possibilities as most familes have been a certain religion for years and can probably trace their religious beliefs back to the day the Mayflower arrived in the United States.

I hope this has been of some use to you, good luck.

"FIGHT ON"

Answer 3

Depending on his age, I would allow my child to explore other takes on the meaning of life (which is what all of the world's religions are about, ultimately). I would feel good about giving him a little religious background for educational purposes, but when the child grows up and leaves, he will make his own decision anyway. If it is very important to the parent, he could perhaps talk about the church as more of a social outlet for the child, try to involve them in youth activities. I would also foster a strong devotion in the child toward serving the poor and disadvantaged, regardless of his beliefs.

Answer 4

As a parent, you have to learn backbone to deal with these sort of things. Of course you also have to be careful about the way you tell them what they have to do. If you abuse them in the process, this will only cause them to believe even more that church is useless.It's the same thing as if your child didn't want to go to school.

Most parents don't know how to deal with this sort of thing and give their children bad impressions on how church is supposed to be. Also, you need to ask them why they don't want to go. Often it's because the other kids are bullies or the Sunday school teacher is boring or mean.

It's important for communication so your child doesn't grow up confused.

Answer 5

I would have a long talk with my kid about why he/she no longer believes in Christianity (are friends influencing my kid? Does he/she have questions about the religion?, etc.), and try to get more in depth about what he/she DOES believe. If my child could come up with a reasonable argument about why it's unncessary to go to church, and he/she was a teenager, then I suppose I'd let him/her stay home. However, I would make sure my child was productive since I was cool enough to let this kid fulfill his/her desire ("Okay, honey, I expect to come home to a cooked lunch if you're going to stay here," or "Okay, then you can clean the bathrooms/help with laundry while I'm gone.").

I wouldn't quit talking about faith, religion, philosophy, and etc. with my child though, and I wouldn't take it personally if he/she didn't want to go to church. Besides, children often go through a stage some time in their teen years and early '20s, during which they think church and religion are not necessary in their lives. However, opinions sometimes change when those children start their own families. I would remain hopeful that God would work within my child's heart, and realize that all I can do is pray and continue to have non-confrontational, non-proselytyzing conversations about spiritual and faith-based issues. It's not necessarily in my power if my child decides to become a Christian, but I believe it's in God's power.

Answer 6

This is what happened with me and my parents. They did take me every week, bible school- etc. I went to them and said the same thing- and my parents still forced me to go with them. They regret that now, I think- it didn't make me believe it just made me more resentful. Just know that you have done your job but every person has their own spiritual journey, and your child is showing great growth of self by exploring his/her feelings/beliefs on their own. It means they are thinking!
I would encourage that they commit to do something positive during the time when they would be going to church with the family- like volunteering at a soup kitchen or nursing home. Good luck!

Answer 7

I'm a christian, how old is your child?
It's probably better not to force a child, how about looking for another church, a more youth orientated church perhaps like Hillsong London (UK) for example...obviously this is just an example because I don't know where you live, but if you apply pressure you will guarantee rebellion and more problems.
Be gentle and be loving, talk to your child about it. Give them space for a while, perhaps let them miss a few weeks, they might just change their mind if you let them do that and there is no pressure whatsoever....don't guilt trip him/her whatever you do! That could ruin everything.
A controlling judgemental attitude always has the opposite effect and no wonder!
But you mean the best for your child, so put yourself in their shoes.
And Pray of course Pray, Pray and Pray again for him/her.
I'm from a large family, we are all following God still, but probably only because our parents prayed for us all every night.

Answer 8

Children normally dislike something if they find it meaningless or boring.

Find out the reason why they refuse to go.

The problems might be the Sunday school class are simply too boring, they dislike someone in the class or it can even be the way you behave or express yourself.

Bring them somewhere they like to go after the Sunday school so they have something to look forward to.

Alternatively, try another Church with different denomination. Don't worry, there is no such thing as wrong church, only wrong people.

Answer 9

1. I'd NEVER "take" my child to church every Sunday: my child is NOT a bag, he's a person and has the right to decide where to go.

2. What should a good parent do if that in your question was the case? RESPECT the child's will and opinion.

Answer 10

You are the parent. The religious life of the family is your responsibility.

However, church attendance isn't all there is to it. A long discussion or series of them may draw out your child's essential beliefs and you can build on those. It is likely that you have more similarities than differences in beliefs and your child is not aware of it.

If they are feeling uncomfortable in the church you attend, it is best to uncover the reasons.

If your child is a teenager, they can attend a service at a church that is more in keeping with what your child thinks is true to them.

If you suspect your child of not going to their new church, have them bring home the church's weekly flyer/bulletin/program or have an adult you know there watch for them.


(My friend's two teenaged boys attend a church separate from the two churches their divorced parents attend in order to stay neutral. It's not the perfect set-up, but they manage.)

Answer 11

I've raised 4 children, and they all attended Church with me each week. I let them know that this was not optional, until they had graduated from high school.

If one of my children said he didn't believe, I would ask him what he didn't believe, then have him do some research to discover if he had misunderstood.

My children often came to me with questions about their classes on Sunday. They had a couple teachers who misunderstood the lessons, and therefore taught them incorrectly. One of my children was very confused because her teacher taught that Mary Magdalene was the mother of Jesus Christ. So, we went to the Bible, and I showed her that the teacher had misunderstood. Another child was taught that Cain and Able were twins. Again, we went to the Bible and learned the truth.

Often, when our children decide that they do not believe, it is because their teachers are not teaching the material correctly. As parents, we need to teach our children from the Bible.