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A bridge in the dark and you’re the safety rails
Educator Janet Gonzalez-Mena uses the following analogy to describe the connection between security and boundaries: Imagine driving over a bridge in the dark. If the bridge has no railings we will drive across it slowly and tentatively. But if we see railings on...
What every child must have to feel secure
What must every child have to feel secure? The safety of routine. Children are creatures of routine. As much as they may love the occasional adventure, they feel safer knowing they can fall back into their familiar patterns. See how this father creates a sense of...
How to talk about “Noah” with a child
The movie, "Noah," will leave quite an impression on children and they will think about it. By rating it PG-13, it is obvious that the movie industry does not recommend it for children under 13. If you see the movie with a child, you open up the possibility of...
When the security alarm goes off
Provide spiritual security by engaging with the child's spiritual questions and curiosity. In the busyness of everyday life it can be easier to skip over their questions, or give pat answers, especially if spiritual topics make us uncomfortable anyway. Notice how...
Creating patterns of nurture and care
Caregivers who nurture a child's spirit may begin to notice subtle behavior changes in him. He may show interest in nurturing and caring for others. Children put out what they take in. - Click to Tweet. You can see this dynamic play out by watching how children care...
Children ask questions, and they expect a God who cares
Children can hear about God almost every day. On the playground, at the park, at the zoo, basically anywhere people are talking: Oh my God. Oh God, no! Goddammit! I swear to God.... They are curious about this. Children want to talk about and ask about...
Don’t be too anxious to get the last word
Find ways to get more children to have a place to speak and everyone will be richer as a result. Ask children what they think and they will often tell you. Don’t ask them, and not only won’t they tell you, they won’t quite know themselves. The act of articulating...
When a child breaks with the family tradition
What's a family to do when a child's spiritual direction threatens family traditions? In her own words, a preschool teacher shares some thoughts from a difficult childhood: I had a very rough childhood. I experienced some sexual abuse growing up and my house...
Character built on high heels
Character, conscience, reason, and more--they're all here to explore within the human spirit. A story from my own childhood about character comes to mind. Last week, the doctor questioned me about my foot pain: "Do you wear pointy shoes or did you used to?" and I...
Are we missing out on their brilliance?
Older children and teens learn and process much of their thinking through the lenses of movies, music, art, and literature. Think of how much time they spend exploring and learning through the media, absorbing perspectives about the nature of life, humanity,...
The conversation that saved a boy’s life
The one thing Donny's father said about God opened up a spiritual pathway for an acquaintance of mine, now nearly 80 years old . . . . I became aware of God first when I was five years old. I was sick with pneumonia. The doctor said to my father, “I hope you have...
Feed a child’s spirit with nature
From our earliest years and throughout our lives, hunger of body and hunger of spirit are mingled together. We know a lot about satisfying physical hunger in children with food, but less about satisfying their spiritual hunger. In the first year of life food goes...
Loving arms
If we work on the assumption that spirituality already exists inside every child, the impact we have on children even in the earliest stages of their development makes such a difference. Many years ago I was told the story of a baby was born to a mother who was...
A child’s fear of heaven
Here's what happened when one parent assumed that spirituality already exists in her young son. As my son was going to sleep two nights ago he said he was afraid to go to heaven because he didn’t know what it would look like. I told him to ask God to show him while he...
A Cleaner Window
Adults often believe either that we need never bring up spiritual matters at all or that we must instill our own beliefs about God into children. The first option may be found among adults who assume that spiritual matters are of little importance to children. The...
Born This Way
“Morality is not just something that people learn, it is something we are all born with,” wrote Gareth Cook in his recent interview with Yale psychologist Paul Bloom in an issue of Scientific American (Nov 12, 2013) (italics mine). The interview with Bloom continues:...
Let’s Pretend. . .
What do you think about telling children that there is a Santa Claus (or Father Christmas or St. Nicholas), alive today, who brings them presents? What did you do or say to them when they found out he’s imaginary? Through the lens of the human spirit, we see a child’s...
Why don’t we talk much about spirituality in children?
One day last July I walked into the transitional living home where I was co-facilitating a support group. To my delight, the baby we had all been waiting on, had arrived. I got to hold him, light as a feather. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of him and I whispered, “You...