Cathecism

[heyhoe]

My husband and I are of different faith. However, I would like to introduce my kids to my religion. So far, he has no objection but I would like to know if it is possible for my kids to attend cathecism since they’re not baptized. I’ve yet to call the church admin and would appreciate if I could get some feedback here.


I’m also wondering whether they’ll be any implication later on? Eg. They might ask why dad doesn’t go to church? Also, if the kids decide to pursue with my faith, will he feels dissapointed?

In this sense, should I expose them to both?

[3Boys]

heyhoe:

My husband and I are of different faith. However, I would like to introduce my kids to my religion. So far, he has no objection but I would like to know if it is possible for my kids to attend cathecism since they're not baptized. I've yet to call the church admin and would appreciate if I could get some feedback here.


I'm also wondering whether they'll be any implication later on? Eg. They might ask why dad doesn't go to church? Also, if the kids decide to pursue with my faith, will he feels dissapointed?

In this sense, should I expose them to both?

This is a question you might want to ask your priest/pastor as he will know your personal situation better. I think catechism class is with a view to baptism and not the other way around?

[Skippy]

Hi Heyho


Children enjoy Catechism or Sunday school as it may be sometimes called. It teaches children of the individual faith and beliefs along with sound values. I was in a similar situation to you where the father was of a different faith and my kids really enjoyed being baptized at the age of 4. Followed by the other ceremonies like First Holy Communion. Later on my son said to me that it was the best thing that he could have done as he really learned the difference between right and wrong. Although they did not continue at High School as I never forced them to go as they got older, the younger years were enjoyed and they made a lot of really nice friends there too.

Skippy

[heyhoe]

Hi Skippy and 3 boys,


Thanks for the feedback.

Skippy, I want to expose my children to the catholic faith so that they would have guidance of God’s love and hopefully grew up with sound values. May I know if your husband has any concerns when they chose to be baptized and accept Holy Communion at later stage? Did they try to encourage their daddy to be a part of it as well? How did he respond to it?

If you prefer to discuss this over PM, that will be great. If not, I understand.

Cheers,

[Skippy]

Hello heyhoe

Yes my husband was happy to attend the ceremonies and perhaps you need to discuss this with your husband. If he does not want to attend (see para below).

When the children asked why their father was not attending church with them, I explained very honestly that everyone has different beliefs and this is perfectly fine.

I got a book which was called Religions of the World (children’s book) forgotten the author where it explains how different people believe in different beliefs - it had photos of temples, mosques, synagog, buddhists temples, other Christian churches. I thought this was good as it taught them to respect other people’s right to follow different paths. I explained that each religion teaches similar teachings like respect, love and compassion for others. I also explained that some people choose not to have a religion. As I was reading I taught them how important it is not to make fun at other people just because they believe something different to you. They were about 7 years when they asked how come their cousins don’t go to church and how come they are vegetarians?

I guess you and your husband will need to talk about it and agree that when they do start to come home with dogma that is specific to your beliefs that it won’t be frowned upon.

Borders or one of the major bookshops do stock books on teaching kids about different beliefs or your local library. You may not need it straight away, but it is available when you are ready for the talk.

Being real and being honest is how children learn to accept differences. If we don’t force things upon them, they will enjoy doing them more ~ Hope this helps and all the very best ~

Skippy

[heyhoe]

Hi Skippy,


Thanks for the ideas. You've been a great help!