I don't have children myself but I have wondered how I would protect them when they are vulnerable. The truth is that children are extremely impressionable at an early age and only start to even question their parents when they approach their teens. It's part of their physiological development.
But you can't keep your child hidden away from Christians if they are going to live in the real world. Although it's interesting to note that home-schooling is popular in America for Christians so theists definitely try this approach.
I feel that ultimately the most sustainable way is to immunise your child rather than filter what they are exposed to. You can do the former far more easily than the latter. That's not to say that you should allow people to infect your child with their own superstitions during the most formative years but eventually you will need to give your child their independence. Explain to them how the world works and as they start to develop critical thinking skills, start asking them questions about what people are trying to teach them. Make them face up to the awkward questions that the believers try to avoid. Like how do you know that there is a god? Well how do they know that there is a god then? What's the difference between that and a mental illness? etc.
But you can't keep your child hidden away from Christians if they are going to live in the real world. Although it's interesting to note that home-schooling is popular in America for Christians so theists definitely try this approach.
I feel that ultimately the most sustainable way is to immunise your child rather than filter what they are exposed to. You can do the former far more easily than the latter. That's not to say that you should allow people to infect your child with their own superstitions during the most formative years but eventually you will need to give your child their independence. Explain to them how the world works and as they start to develop critical thinking skills, start asking them questions about what people are trying to teach them. Make them face up to the awkward questions that the believers try to avoid. Like how do you know that there is a god? Well how do they know that there is a god then? What's the difference between that and a mental illness? etc.
