How do you handle a relative giving religious education to your child without you?
My mother-in-law knows I’m a non-religious person. It’s been the subject of very awkward conversations and loaded questions and hasn’t always gone well. The first question from her upon learning her son and I were pregnant was, “Can I take the baby to church?” But she knows my parenting plan of exposing my child to all religious options.
Has anyone tread this road before, and have any advice on how to handle it? What language do I use to make it clear I don’t want my toddler being pushed into a certain religion before she’s old enough to understand?
Dealing with death: how I told my daughter her grandfather had passed away
Almost a year ago now, my father passed away. I received the news in slow motion; anyone who has heard this kind of news knows exactly what I mean by that. Of course I felt the initial pain of my own loss, but my attention immediately turned to my daughter. How was I going to tell my little girl, who at that time was two months shy of turning three and so in love with her “Umpaw,” that she would never see him again?
A secular baby welcoming ceremony jampacked with love and sweets
We left the day feeling very much like we did after leaving our wedding. We tend not to do things in the “traditional” ways, and often get a lot of funny looks from people when we describe what we have in mind. With Margot’s ceremony, and our wedding before it, we got some push back from people who thought what we had planned was weird, or just… had lots of questions like “um, what the heck is a welcome ceremony?” So, we feel especially pleased when those same people come up to us to say “That was so lovely!” or “This was the nicest wedding/baby ceremony I have ever been to!”
How do you create a village for your child when you don’t have a network?
My partner and I are considering having children sometime in the next few years, but the question of “community” has been holding us back. We both grew up in religious households but we are pretty much agnostic. However, we both know how powerful that supporting community can be.
Is it possible to teach your kids about other religions without imposing your own beliefs?
We both agree that we want our children to be able to choose what works for them as far as a religion and beliefs go… but we’re not well-versed in other religions. Where should we begin?
Graphic novels about religion and spirituality for kids
Graphic novels provide an offbeat way for parents to talk about various religions or spiritual beliefs with their kids.
3 lessons for an awesome offbeat baby shower
When you have a feminist husband, he will micro-manage the baby shower. Dre has prickly sensitivities about gender issues, and impending parenthood has only brought those into sharper focus. We would of course have a co-ed baby shower, but Andreas got upset when people called it “Ariel’s shower.”