Christians: Do you try to get your kids to believe as you do?

Answer 1

Yes, I would be a real hypocrite if I didn't, wouldn't I? To me it isn't a theory, it is a principle of life and death like breathing and drinking water. If I told my kids: "Don't worry about it, it's just my idea. You wait until you're older to think about it", it would mean I really didn't believe very much, wouldn't it?
By the way, every parent inculcates their real beliefs to their children.
Don't worry, my children will still be perfectly capable of making up their own minds later. My Dad taught me what he believed. I came to different beliefs when I grew up. To try to protect our kids from our own beliefs would be an insult to their God given intelligence.
One thing I did drum into my kids, though, was that believing something just because their parents believe it doesn't make them a real believer, or a child of God. They would need to eventually come to their own personal faith - or not.
My children are now adults. Each one has come to his or her own conclusions, and some are still trying to figure it out.

Answer 2

I have raised my children in a Christian home and have taught them about the Bible and what it says. I have also taught them about what other religions teach and say. They have a broad understanding of various religions and have chosen Christianity. The only struggle that one of my children has is the same that my husband struggled with..."If I had been born in a Muslim country and had been taught to believe the Koran, would I still believe the things that I believe now?" We have encouraged him to seek out the answers to this question and to study Islam and see if it is anything he could believe in. The fact of the matter is, most Muslims are Muslims by force, not by choice. If all of the Islamic states were overthrown and freedom of religion was allowed in them, very few would remain Muslim.

Answer 3

Apparently, Prov 22:6 was a bit of wishful thinking.

My parents raised me Catholic, sent me to Catholic School. It was a great school. I got a good eduction on secular subjects and a thorough knowledge of Christianity. And eventually became an atheist.

I don't think parents should try to drum any specific religion into a child's head. A child trusts their parents, so at an early age their "faith" is in their parents, not necessarily in god. To truly have faith in god takes some internal epiphany that I have never had. It's up to god to make people believe in god, IMO.

For the record, I'm sending my child to the same Catholic school I went to. I'm not trying to raise her atheist. She knows my views, and she knows the views of the teachers at school. Someday she'll make her own decision, as it should be.

Answer 4

I was raised Christian, and have since decided that I'm more of a Deist. However, I do take my kids to a non-fundie, intelligent and social justice-oriented Christian church. I try to discuss their beliefs with them, as much as possible (they're 9 and 13). I think the church gives them a "vocabulary" with which they can begin to explore faith on their own when they are old enough to be so inclined.

Answer 5

I never forced what I believed on my children, when I attended church they always had the choice to go or not to go. I did not want my children to be a by product of what I believed. I really do not care what other Christians think of how I chose to raise my children, so no e-mails please. I figured if God wanted them He was able to come and get them. I have five children all grown now. Two are Christians, one is Pagan and the other two are Atheists. They are happy and I love them all the same. I wanted them to pursue their own happiness not what made me happy.

Answer 6

I try to teach them what I know. I try to teach them what's important. I try to teach them the difference between right and wrong. Why? Because I want her to be equipped to make good decisions and to live a good life - we all want the best for our children. Where faith is concerned, as well as many other things: finances, physical health, hygiene, and so on.

EVERY parent has, if nothing else, the obligation to teach and raise their children according to their beliefs, understandings and overall knowledge. OF course I teach my child what my religious beliefs are. That's simply common sense.

Answer 7

The Bible says we should.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 - " And these words that I am commanding you today must prove to be on your heart;  and you must inculcate them in your son and speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road and when you lie down and when you get up."
Ephesians 6:4 - "And YOU, fathers, do not be irritating YOUR children, but go on bringing them up in the discipline and mental-regulating of Jehovah."

Some Bible verses specifically address children.

Prov. 6:20 - "Observe, O my son, the commandment of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother"
Deuteronomy 5:16 - "Honor your father and your mother, just as Jehovah your God has commanded you; in order that your days may prove long and it may go well with you on the ground that Jehovah your God is giving you."

Answer 8

OF course! If yu believe in something, or in this case, someone, you know in your heart its good for the people you care abut to beieve in the same thing too! So the answer is YES...at least I would as soon as I have my own, am only 19!

Answer 9

All parents indoctrinate their children in their beliefs.

The question really is, do you "allow" your kids to believe differently than you do?

In my case, the answer is yes. They believe what they will, I cannot control another's beliefs.

Answer 10

Let's get real, if you are a Christian, you would naturally want your children to be raised Christians, the same thing goes to any other religion. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.