Hellobee Boards

I'm not sure! I really want to be respectful of other people's beliefs but I honestly don't understand everyone's beliefs so giving a succinct answer to a toddler or preschooler is hard! I was thinking about this today since we were in an area where lots of women wear a hijab. I need to be ready for these conversations so I'm not giving inaccurate information.

I think kids are naturally inclined to believe in a higher power, since everything to them is basically a higher power!

I tell my kids that science is what we know is true based on proof... and religion is what we choose to believe based on pure faith.

My oldest is 5 and I'm not sure he knows that there is a concept of god in the world since neither we nor our families are religious. He knows about church and some very vague Christian concepts, mostly relating to Christmas (we live in a very Catholic country and his daycare faces a church). We also have plenty of Muslims and Orthodox Jews in our community, so he sees, and sometimes asks about why they are dressed in certain ways. While we've never discussed God in depth, I've addressed it in a very matter of fact way. Some people practice a thing called religion and they go to church or mosque or synagogue or whatever to do so. They believe in an omnipresent being who created the earth and everything in it. I don't pass judgement, just state very basic facts. But I also underline that DH and I believe in science. My son is very into science right now so I think that interests him quite a bit more.

My 4 year old has asked what heaven is. I told her it's a made up place some people think you go to after you die... she hasn't asked about god yet, but I will probably say something like what @lamariniere: said. We live in the bible belt, so I know this will come up soon.