The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum

I have a question for everybody. At what age have you started teaching your kids about magic and your spiritual path, if you do it at all? I know that there is no age that's perfect - that it will change from child to child - but how young is too young? I'd like some opinions, because I'm torn about beginning to teach my own children. (At least the 3 yr old and 5 yr old.........I think  6 months and 20 months both fall under the too young
category : )

I think it partially depends on the matureity of the child and what you want to teach them. My kids are 12, 10, 5, & 2. I want to teach the older two a little bit of what I am learning but they both have ADHD and have behavior issues. I am trying to work on that because this is a serious subject and I want them to be able to concentrate. Right now I if I am doing something concerning the craft (like the other day I was experemnting with making incense) I try to explain what and why I am doing it. My alter is in plain view and hve explained in simplest form what it is for. They have seen my BoS, and my (small) crystal stone collection. Again I explain things as simply as I can as far as what the items are for. I am looking for simple rituals that I might be able to include them in, and maybe books they can read to learn along with me. Sorry I got kind of long winded.

So the 5 and 10 year olds.......He/she understands that you practice magic? Not the card trick kind.....but the real stuff? They don't talk about it at school? Their friends don't ask questions? I can't leave my altar out, so it's not in front of my kids' faces all of the time, and I don't know whether to bring it up now or not.

A

I have a question for everybody. At what age have you started teaching your kids about magic and your spiritual path, if you do it at all? I know that there is no age that's perfect - that it will change from child to child - but how young is too young? I'd like some opinions, because I'm torn about beginning to teach my own children. (At least the 3 yr old and 5 yr old.........I think  6 months and 20 months both fall under the too young
category : )

Since heathenry is a folkway rather than a more occultic tradition, its fairly simple teaching them about it. We talk a lot about things that are rather obvious and necessary anyway: responsible living for yourself, family, community and descendants; ancestors and landwights and leaving them gifts, etc.

My son will say that his friends say thunder is god bowling and I tell him it's Thor.

They hear bumps in the night and I tell them its the housewight and, that more than that, our ancestors watch over us.

We go camping and offer gifts to the landwights, during storms we put out gifts.

My daughter was almost seriously hurt one day but wound up safe. We baked cookies and brewed coffee and gave them to Frigga and our ancestors for their protection.

There isn't anything to teach, its just living. I don't say tell them its heathen, I don't make it a lesson. Its just traditions and a worldview they'll grow up immersed I . Every family has one and our's is nothing unusual or noteworthy to them to the point that they feel awkward or make a scene.

 
That's interesting - I suppose I hear a lot of people talking about letting them make the choice and such things, so I rarely hear someone advocating total immersion.  I don't think it's a bad thing at all, and I don't mean to imply that.

I have no children, but in other things with my cousins, I tend to go by the "if they ask, be honest" rule.  Tell them what they can understand (to the best of your knowledge; don't dumb it down if they don't need it dumbed down).  I guess I'm a little different, though, because they're not my children to teach, and I don't get to decide about their religious education, so I do tend to gloss over questions.

So, in terms of age, summarising my vague point, there is a 'too young' as in, too young to understand completely about the purpose behind things and the deeper concepts, but at almost every stage (once they start talking and taking an interest) that they can't be involved a little and start to have basic questions answered.

Well, since in the trad I was practicing in at the time included the children as well as the adults (with a few closed to kids rituals from time to time) it wasn't a matter of telling them anything or specifically teaching them beyond what we were all learning together.  The Craft and Magic were simply who we were and what we did.  Everything is Magic, Goddess IS, that's that.

There was a bit of problem with the school when my son calmly mentioned that I was a Witch, but when the school called, I just told them it was our religion and there was no more problem about it.  We did have the advantage of being in an area with a large number of different cultures all jammed together, no real major majorities.  

His father and step mother definitely had problems, but they would have had problems if I had raised him Lutheran (his dad grew up there) or Catholic.  They just made a lot of noise and amused both of us.  Sound and fury signifying nothing.

Hope this helps.  Blessed be!

 
My kids are really split in age. I have a 20 y/o daughter, 18 y/o son, 6y/o son and 4y/o daughter.
My older two are atheist and agnostic respectively.The atheist is pretty set in that and I respect her decision. The agnostic lad, we discuss a lot of stuff, he just does not get how it applies to life. So while I discuss it with him when he wants I leave him to find his own way. When they were young I was getting as far away from religion and spirituality as I could and my wife is pretty nuetral on it all.

THe younger two. I think the 4 y/o is two young to really teach much of anything. That said I have made up bedtime stories about the fae, wights etc that are happy and good. She loves them and falls asleep with a big smile.
The 6 year old. I don't think I have ever met a person with such an inate spiritual sense as he has. I learn much more from him than I could ever teach him I think. That said I don't include him in any ritual stuff or anything. I treasure his pure innocence and his open mind. But when we are out by the river or hiking we do talk - in an age appropriate way - about the magic of nature, we collect feathers and certain rocks and so on. He also Hails Odin on Wednesdays (and insists we eat corndogs in his honour) and Thor on Thursday ( with Dr. Pepper). This is because I wanted him to know that Thor and Odin are not simply Marvel comic characters when the movie came out.

Now the younger two.

I have a question for everybody. At what age have you started teaching your kids about magic and your spiritual path, if you do it at all? I know that there is no age that's perfect - that it will change from child to child - but how young is too young? I'd like some opinions, because I'm torn about beginning to teach my own children. (At least the 3 yr old and 5 yr old.........I think  6 months and 20 months both fall under the too young
category : )

 
I've decided that, with my children, i'll treat information on religion the same as I will information about where babies come from. When they ask me, I'll tell them. I don't want them to be pressured to follow any particular path, even my own. I much prefer that they each find their own way as they grow. I'll help them learn about anything they want to know, whenever they decide they want to learn it.