if you're not religious- what do you tell your kid when she asks:?

Question

who made the first person in the world?

at almost 8 years old, my sister Diane asked THE question of the year:
who made the first person in the world?

my dad's atheist, and my mom won't go against his ideals, therefore not teaching my sisters about God, the creation of the world, or Adam and Eve. my dad's always been the one to tell us that if we want to pursue religion on our own, we are free to do so. it's only a little difficult considering that we can't study it in his presence.

so as an attempt to dodge the subject, he answered
"ask your teacher. see what she says"

if you're not religious, what would you tell your kid??

Answer 1

That no one did so.
Evolution created in time humans as well as anything else.

Answer 2

You could actually just answer "that the first people were here a long time ago, and it probably didn't really start with one." And that it's not so much a Who that made people. Origins of life and the universe it's a challenging answer to frame to an 8 year old. You can say, "this world is a place where life can exist. We don't have all the answers. As you get older, you'll understand it more and we can learn it together. But know this, animals and plants and insects and people and the sun's energy and water are all connected and depend on each other."

Answer 3

I would say, No one really knows the answer to that question. There are many different beliefs which are outlined in various religions. The scientific community and non-religious people accept evolution which is rather difficult to explain to an eight-year-old child. Tell her that answering that question is one of the greatest mysteries in this life and challenge her to try to find the answer herself. I wish my parents would have said this to me when I was that age because I was born a skeptic and I was also full of a cocky sort of confidence that made me tenaciously search for answers to problems that people had already deemed impossible to answer. Who knows what I might have concluded had I not been subjected to catholic brainwashing from birth. The truth is a mystery and it should not be considered frightening at any age. She might be inspired to look for the answers and without the handicap of a story told to her by people she trusts that just doesn’t add up.

Answer 4

I don't have a child

But what you're saying is that I should believe in a god so that if a kid asks me where the first person came from I'll have an easy answer to give. Even though there is absolutely zero evidence that it's true.

EVOLUTION! Perhaps find some books about evolution geared towards a younger person.

Answer 5

I'm not religious. I'm not ever going to stop my children from pursuing their own conclusions though. I will keep a Bible around, or a Torah, or a Quran, or whatever text my kids would like to see. I'll even take them to church if they want to go.

I'll explain it to them the same way I'd explain it to any adult: Faith is really a matter of your own conclusions. You should never believe something just because your parents do. I didn't, and I won't expect my kids to.

If they ask where the first person came from, then I'll tell them what I think, but I'll also tell them that a great deal of people in the world don't agree with that.

Answer 6

if you aren't religious then tell them the truth.

" People believe different things. Some people believe that God made the first person. Other people believe it was science. What do you believe?"

it could be as simple as that, but if that isn't a good enough answer just let her ask questions. You or your parents don't have to have any bias and try not to. She should have the chance to decide what she believes for herself.

Answer 7

I never lie to children, or for that matter, to adults, but I consider lying to children especially egregious. Tell her that the first person was something that would look to us much like an ape, but it had a slightly better brain than the other apelike things, and was able to think abstractly.

Answer 8

I would say no one made them, that they evolved and were born, just like she was.

Dodging the question is not a good idea, there are far too many people willing to give answers they can't prove, and don't even have a grain of evidence for.

Answer 9

I woulden't ask a school teacher. Because of the seperation of church and state teachers can't really say much about it in school. I would go to church or if you have a friend who's family goes to church you could go with them. And if you can't study religion in front of your father then you are not really free to worship and belive as you choose.
For the best information talk to a preacher or religious person of some kind. Or call them on the phone. Visit them at church etc...

Answer 10

How about HONESTY...

...you know, explaining a little bit about evolution? Asking who made the first person in the world is like the chicken-or-the-egg question; it's not a simple answer. There really wasn't a "first person".

Answer 11

I would explain evolution as best as a child that age can comprehend. Just like any question from a child about how the world works. Like 'why is the sky blue', or 'where do babies come from', etc.