Pagan Blog Project: Pagan Parenting

I think it’s pretty well known that Pagan Parenting is a subject I am passionate about. Though it’s been awhile since I’ve directly written on it,  the first entitled; Parenting: Making Faith Based Choices for our Children.
In that year through talking with many different Pagan Parents both in person, the Pagan Parenting Facebook Page, and other blogs I’ve learned that there seems to be a definite increase in interest on the subject. I think one reason is because more and more people who came into Paganism when they were teens, especially in the 90s to early 2000s are now having children. I’ll admit I was one of those.
In all of these discussions I’ve learned there are many common views held by Pagan Parents and some views where there are large disagreements.

Common Views

• Taught that all religions are sacred.
  
• Encouraged to visit and learn about a multitude of faiths.
  
• A reverence for the Earth, and nature.
  
• A reverence for human, animals and all spirits.
  
• A focus on the seasons.
  
• Encouragement in reading especially lore and myths.

Contented Views

• At what age to introduce particular faith based tenets to children.
  
• At what age to include children in rituals.
  
• Whether to actually “raise” your child in paganism.

We all know raising children isn’t simple and there are often many issues that  influence a parents decision on why they chose one way or another. Maybe the child comes from a family of mixed faiths, so parents decide to introduce faith later. Maybe the family lives in a place where fear of persecution exists, children do not they shouldn’t speak of certain things. Whatever the reason doesn’t really matter because it’s a parents choice.

Getting a Bit Personal Here

I can’t bring up this subject and just talk about parenting from a 3rd party stand point. I have two small children of my own, currently 2 and 4. My Hubby is an Eclectic Pagan and well the best label for myself I think is Humanist Heathen/Pagan. Even with both of us being “Pagan” we have our own decisions and compromises we must make.

• Hubby believes in Supernatural and in the God and Goddess as Supernatural Deities.
  
• I do not believe in the Supernatural, I believe deity is a social construct amongst people to join us together.

That’s a huge issue and as a result we’ve decided to leave Deity out of our children’s lives until they are older. Collectively we have decided that what we will do with our children is:

• Focus on seasonal cycle of the year and the importance of nature.
  
• About the importance of community and social involvement.
  
• Ethics routed in the lessons of our ancestors.
  
• Importance of traditions (disclaimer: with use of judgment)
  
• General readings of myths and lore.

Back in March I talked about this, on how we decided about what to teach and share with our children. Not too much has changed since then but honestly I expect it to in the future. I’m at a point where I’m questioning my own beliefs at times.

I want to Pose a Question

How do you handle teaching your children about faith If your own beliefs change?
How do you explain that to them and is it a reason to possibly keep them slightly removed from your faith if you are still searching?

This post has been a part of the Pagan Blog Project. The letter of the week is P and you can find the rest of the entries for this week here.