Ages 4 to 6
How Your Child May Be Developing Spiritually
- Has an active imagination and is open to the supernatural.
- May say insightful or profound things about God, the world, and life.
- Responds to concrete stories, symbols, and experiences.
- Tends to be a black-and-white thinker.
- Begins to use the religious or spiritual language of the family.
What You May Experience as a Parent
- Satisfaction when your child expresses spiritual insights consistent with your beliefs.
- Openness by your child to spiritual beliefs, stories, and practices.
- Comments by your child about spiritual or religious concepts that may or may not fit with your beliefs or with reality.
- Some resistance from the child who starts to become more independent and begins to ask questions.
Nurturing Your Child’s Spiritual Development
- Give your child more ways to participate in family spiritual practices as he or she is able.
- Use concrete stories, games, and crafts to introduce the family’s beliefs and practices.
- Accept your child’s interpretation of spiritual or religious concepts, asking her or him questions about them rather than correcting or judging.
- Encourage questions about the world, life, death, and other spiritual matters.
- Ask young children to draw pictures to express what they experience and believe.
