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Merry Meet! I had an interesting conversation with an old friend of mine- not pagan- and she asked me how i was going to raise my children, I said right, she said no I mean how are you going to keep the other kids from teasing your children when they find out he or she is pagan? I drew a blank, I never really thought about it, Iam the kind of person that just kinda go's with the flow, I am like water you see, so I decided to ask all of you my fellow pagans on how you think children should be raised so that they dont suffer abuse from other children from different backgrounds? should I be worried?

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hi
part of being pagan/wiccan is not pushing our children to be pagan/wiccan. to speak from a parents point of veiw all of my daughters were raised on the path,but with a free choice as to what to follow. all have choosen to follow the path of the goddess. as to teasing the best ammunition against christians is information.teach your children to debate not fight, to talk not yell and to back up all statements with information.

Blessed are the children of the Goddess.
look do not tell them till they have a better understanding dont be like outher people and force a fath on them when they ask questions tell them what you think and tell them your fath is not like by all do to that keep it to your you and your family pagen wiches what ever you want to call it wicca they have to know to keep the fath out of people knowing that what i think on that
thank you for your comment
welcome ok ttyl how are you

Merry Meet; I had to chuckle a bit when I read this. I am new to Wiccan but I am OLD TO LIFE, *snickers*. You face the same dilemma that every parent faces regardless of their religious beliefs, social economic background, Race, Ethnic Origin or what have have you. It's the same old story. People condemn what they don't understand or what they have been taught through Clan or Tribal prejudices. Most people have little or no true understanding of the "newer religions" i.e. Mormon, Jehovah witnesses, The (as I call them) Tele-Evangelist Christians, or what have you. They all preach "The Word Of Jesus"outright but listen to them speak in small groups away from there "Church". The condemn the Catholics, who in turn speak or look down upon the Baptists, who in turn scowl at the Methodists. The city businessman looks down upon the farmer, The Mall Munchkins, whose lives revolve around Concrete Walls with shoppes and stores and the Food court, Do not understand the Country kids who grab a pole when their chores are done and head to the local fishing hole. I know people who will not swim in a lake or a pond only a "clean fresh pool" (when if they really stopped to think about it the look on the little kids face ten feet away is not that of someone enjoying the pool but rather enjoying a bodily function release). I could go on as they say "ad inf-item" but I wont.

When your friend ask the initial question you actually gave them the correct answer with one word in the first sentence, "Right" That in itself is what we should all do. Teach them that this world is full of different people who come from many different paths. The path they choose is theirs to take as is ours. Will they be teased for their religious beliefs sadly yes, But I would venture to guess not as much as they will be teased for the clothes they wear or the kind of shoes they have or the car their parents drive, or the job that the parents work at.

All I have done is to reach my children to respect others. They do not have to love them or like them or bow down to them. They simply need to respect the person and move on. I hope I have taught my children well. I know that their paths will be different than mine  and I pray that it is. I do not wish for them to go through or see what I have seen, But I have given them the tools to learn and experience this thing we call life. I have slept in the mud in far away lands and have relaxed in a Suite at the Hilton. I have eaten lunch in the Congressional Dining Hall and been at a Keg party eight hours later. I lived basically homeless in the Mountains, and then in a 3 bedroom condo only a year later. I have lived from one extreme to the other. Am I an expert on anything, *shakes head* no no noo.  Am I knowledgeable on many things. Simple answer yes.

So teach your children to live life to its fullest. To experience all they have the opportunity to and never be ashamed of who they are or what hey believe. It may be hard for them at first but as they grow older they will understand...

 

Blessed Be

 

I feel that religion is something that someone should come into on there own. Teach them everything you know about all the religions you know. Give your childredn the knowledge and the freedom to be whatever religion they want, or to not believe at all.
I have Six children, ranging in age from 16 to 3, my oldest is in high school and very proudly Pagan as are I and her father, the second oldest has decided to follow Christianity (not our choice but hers) then middle 2 are also strong pagan followers; as is the youngest at this point.  However my new man and our child (his by birth) are on the path of my second oldest.... what I getting at here is simply this, we all have to do whats best for ourselves while not becoming what it is we do not desire to understand, being open minded and excepting one for whom they are and what they choose to believe while giving them the strength to follow through with their choices are whats most important, children are the worse of this place and we all have to endure it at one time or another, so If your children choose to follow you then give them all the tools to except the shit storm that is sure to follow and the strength to with stand the teasing, however if it doesn't stop there give them the tools to kick asses and take names after all it's harm none not except harm...     Light n love

Terry,

   I raised my biological daughter in a pagan household, while sending her to a catholic school.  We never had any problems, but then my daughter didn't advertise her home life either.  Her friends came and went in our house constantly.  As she became older, the option to move my books and altar to a more private location was always open to her, but she never asked me to.  Eventually, I did move my altar, but that was more for practicality than for her comfort, as she never asked me to.  We celebrated the Wheel of the Year as a family and she was free to invite anyone she wished.  As time went on some of her friends came to me for information and some of them became practitioners themselves.  She was always aware that others believed differently.  I encouraged her to explore other beliefs to see if they made sense to her, but she has always remained wiccan.  She never made an issue of it with others and respected others beliefs and their right to have them as long as they didn't shove those beliefs down her throat.  For me, and I think her, it's always been what you put out there is what you get back.  She's 28 now and well adjusted.  Blessings! 

I totally agree with you bratchild, this is the best way, why hide it. I just made sure my kids did learn about other religions, the more you know the better, nothing is ever lost, knowledge is knowledge...no matter what the subject. I have a friend who is a witch, she has been for more years than I, yet her children (my kids best friends) don't know anything about it. I find it so sad because she could have a great relationship with her girls if she told them. They know about me, because my oldest daughter who is the rebel of the family, she likes to shock people. She told them "my mom is a witch"They didn't even bat an eye, they just asked questions about it. So as far as kids goes, mean kids will always find something to fight about with other kids, if they decide they don't like someone, trust me it has nothing to do with religious beliefs, as most teens don't give a hoot about religion anyways.   

I agree with Frankie

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