Dec 10, 2018 | Direction
When did you realize you wanted to blog?
When I finished writing Child-Centered Spirituality but before its publication, several smart people recommended that I start a blog so that I’d have a place to raise issues around the subject.
How did you feel when you started writing?
Nervous. Unsure. I wondered if there would be enough to write about and whether anyone was going to read it.
What did you learn from the past five years?
I learned that child-centered spirituality is of interest to many families and to (almost) all children. Once adults realize that we don’t talk about religion here, but matters of the spirit, their guard goes down and they focus on understanding a child’s own special way of relating with God, supporting and resourcing it, even when it’s different from the adult’s style.
Who helped you along the way toward this 5th blog anniversary?
- Tara Miller, coauthor of Child-Centered Spirituality, read all the posts and offered suggestions. She’s been a guest blogger on occasion.
- Alisha Ule provided technical support and set up Instagram, a Facebook page, and Twitter account. She contributes the art ideas, creates the posters for quotations and more.
- Michelle Coe steered the book launch and designed the book cover.
- Annette Schalk did the German translations for four years.
- Robert Logan provided major funding for the project.
- Readers gave ideas for discussion through their questions and comments.
Why did you decide to offer Child-Centered Spirituality Workshop events?
After the book came out in November 2017 (Amazon & Kindle) I was impressed with an idea that wouldn’t go away:
Through the book’s message, families can recognize the great need to pay attention to children’s spiritual development to the same degree that they encourage intellectual, social, emotional and physical growth. The book describes the big picture issues with age-appropriate aids for adults to utilize with kids. But how does this happen in the ordinariness of everyday life? How does a child form a bond with God?
The workshop uncovers seven styles people use to connect with God in their most natural way, with emphasis on children.
The first workshop was held in April 2018 in Pasadena, CA. Since then, it’s been in Nashville and Colorado Springs, with more coming in 2019. Contact janet@childcenteredspirituality If your faith community, service organization or parochial school wants more info.
Tweetable: Book now for a Child-centered Spirituality workshop to come to your service organization, faith community or parochial school. Go here for details. Click to Tweet.
Feb 12, 2018 | Direction
Today’s challenge is prompted by a reader’s feedback about my new book, Child-Centered Spirituality. He wrote, “While I was reading some of the pointers, affirmations and discussion questions for parents to use with their kids – I was struck by the fact that I really needed to ask forgiveness from a friend I had recently said some harsh things to. A passage in the book poked me in the eye. I did the deed of contrition – and got an instant reply of thanks and ‘reconciliation.’ All those questions we should be posing to children, we should be posing to ourselves too. So your book operated on another level for me – Thank you!”
Questions as a gateway into our own spiritual life
What questions does he mean? Questions that make kids think. Those uncovering our need for a searching and fearless moral inventory–questions that poke in the eye. Discovery questions for kids who know there’s a better way. Those leading to reflection. Regular self-reflection can become a key to talk more openly and naturally with the children in your life.
Start by journaling your responses to these questions, suggested by Larissa Marks
- In a few words or phrases, describe how you are presently doing.
- How have you experienced the divine lately?
- What has been life-giving? What has been life-draining?
- What things are presently occupying your mind and heart?
Then by all means, engage some people you trust in conversation around these matters. It can be a spiritual director, a trusted friend, or someone whose spiritual journey you respect. Being able to talk with others is critical. Engaging with others in a safe environment can be a surprisingly healing experience. After all, none of us is really in this alone. We all need others along the road with us as we travel.
Tweetable: Once in a while, sprinkle thought questions into your car conversations with kids. Questions about the bigger meaning of life or its big picture. Click to Tweet
Nov 20, 2017 | Direction
Spiritual development is indeed a journey. Dr. James Fowler’s well-reasoned book, Stages of Faith, gives valuable resources for adults responsible for the spiritual development of children. How and when does faith develop? What should we know about the developmental stages?
I cannot improve on Maxine Handelman’s summary of Dr. Fowler’s empirical research into the spiritual development of children, so I offer you the “best of” here:.
What is faith development?
“Faith development is about making meaning of life’s significant questions, adhering to this meaning, and acting it out in his or her life span.Faith is a common pursuit and quest of all individuals. Faith development theory provides a place for God and religious ways of being without mandating them.”
How and when does faith develop?
“Faith formation occurs in relation to others. It can be in relation to parents, church-temple-mosque, [sacred texts], school, friends or any group of people with whom one interacts. Just as one’s intellectual abilities, motor skills and social behaviors change over the life span, so does one’s faith. Views of God will not remain the same. Faith can be nurtured, strengthened and enhanced.
What should we know about the developmental stages of faith?
- Stage 0 (birth to 2 years) — Early learning about the safety of their environment (i.e. warm, safe and secure vs. hurt, neglect and abuse). If consistent nurture is experienced, the child will develop a sense of trust and safety about the universe and God.
- Stage 1 (ages 3-7) — Faith is learned mainly through experiences, stories (including holy texts), images, and the people with whom the child comes in contact.
- Stage 2 (mostly in school children) — Children have a strong belief in justice and reciprocity. They experience God as almost always personal, with characteristics such as goodness, mercy, care and love.
- Stage 3 (arising in adolescence) — Characterized by the development of a personal identity and conformity to their faith community.
- Stage 4 (usually late teens to late thirties) — A stage of angst and struggle. The individual takes personal responsibility for his or her beliefs and feelings. As one is able to reflect on one’s own beliefs, there is an openness to a new complexity of faith.
Awareness of the general passages of faith can provide an anchor as we look back at our own lives, and look ahead to what children have in store.
Tweetable: Awareness of the general passages of faith development can provide an anchor as we guide children in theirs. Click to Tweet
My new book, Child-centered Spirituality: Helping children develop their own spirituality, is now available on Amazon – just in time for the holidays!
Where did Grandma go when she died?
Why doesn’t God stop bad things from happening?
Many parents have experienced a child asking difficult spiritual questions– usually at inopportune moments. While we stumble around trying to think of an answer, we feel inadequate… and sometimes startled by their questions. If you’re like most adults, you try your hardest to avoid thinking much about questions like these. So why on earth is a child asking you about them?
We talk with our children about the importance of school work, about physical health, about how to navigate social difficulties. We even talk with them about sex, drugs, and internet safety… or if we don’t, we know we should.
So why do we find it so difficult to talk with children about God?
Whether you are a parent, grandparent, teacher, foster parent, or other caregiver, this is a book to help you engage with the children in your life about their spiritual needs.
Purchase your copy in paperback here.
If you prefer the Kindle version, you can purchase it here.
Jun 16, 2016 | Direction
We’re at the midway point of the C.H.O.O.S.E tool, which builds willpower and gives children a sound decision-making process they can carry throughout their lifetime.
Deciding what to do–one choice to TRY
This is the point at which the child settles on one good option to TRY in the situation.
After working through the previous steps of the C.H.O.O.S.E. tool, the only options on the child’s list are the wise ones. Sometimes the best option emerges very quickly, and other times it takes a while and the child may have to try a few different options before one works.
At times, children may not want to try any of their options. Why not?
- Fear of failure
- Need for approval from parents or others (e.g. people-pleasing)
- Disconnection from their source of guidance
For example, if you believe they are afraid to fail, see if they want to revisit the brainstorming process until the child convinces himself he does indeed have enough information to make a choice.
Maybe the child can’t decide because she wants to choose an option she thinks will not please you. You can assure her you see her point of view and you are supportive of her choice no matter what the outcome.
Remember, the list contains only positive choices in the sense that unsafe choices or those with consequences that can’t be undone have already been deleted. Furthermore, you will be there to help the kids identify what they are learning from the choice and what they might want to do differently next time. This builds willpower.
Getting it right is not the point.
Rather, by taking time with the child to carefully think about each possibility, children can be increasingly confident of making the best choice they can–and move on.
The goal is the child’s growth in the ability to make a good choice based on careful evaluation of all the options.
Tweetable:
- When a child is confused about making an important choice, take a closer look at these 3 hindrances. Click to Tweet
- Here’s some practical guidance when a child procrastinates in making a decision. Click to Tweet
May 11, 2015 | Direction
In a web-based Smart Girls survey, four out of five girls (average age 13) reported that their life goal was something like fame, money, or being happy. The remaining 20% said their life goal was to make a difference.
Opinions such as this are often formed from previous experience.
What kinds of experiences and input are shaping the dreams, goals, and values of the children in your life?
Think about how they might answer the question, “What is your main goal in life?”
Would they be in the majority or the minority? And what do you most want for the children in your life? What if you had to choose either happiness or meaning?
This is the first post in a series where I explore a spiritual approach to addressing this question with children.
Defining happiness and meaning
A good place to start is by defining our terms. In a widely-reported survey summarized in Scientific American:
Respondents strongly correlated feeling happy with seeing life as easy, pleasant, and free from difficult or troubling events. Happiness was also correlated with being in good health and generally feeling well most of the time.
However, none of these things were correlated with a greater sense of meaning.
The survey’s findings suggest that pure happiness is about getting what we want in life—whether through people, money, or life circumstances.
Meaningfulness, in contrast, seems to have more to do with 
giving, effort, and sacrifice. However, tasks which don’t make us happy can, over time, add up to a meaningful life. Even routine activities — talking on the phone, cooking, cleaning, meditating, emailing, praying, and balancing finances — appeared to bring more meaning to adults’ lives, but did not contribute to happiness in the moment.
Think about your own perspectives on this question.
- How would you personally rate the relative importance of happiness or meaning?
- How have you pursued them?
- How successful has that pursuit been?
- What are your hopes for the children in your life?
- What do you most want for them? Happiness or meaning? What if you had to choose?
Next week: Preparing children to tap into their potential
Tweetable: New series gives practical perspective to the kinds of experiences that shape a child’s dreams and goals. Click to Tweet
