How Do We Keep Our Kids Catholic?

A great reflection by More2Life Radio contributor, Kim Cameron-Smith of IntentionalCatholicParenting.com

So how do we keep our kids Catholic, then?  We build a strong Catholic home culture and we love our children unconditionally.  We respond to their legitimate needs with respect and tenderness.  We parent with grace and authority, but never strident, rude, controlling coldness.  This is a difference between authoritative parenting (clear expectations guided by warmth and acceptance) and authoritarian parenting (an expectation of blind obedience with threat of severe consequences for disobedience).  The fact is, and this statement is supported in the scientific literature, children who are securely attached to their parents are far more likely to internalize the values and religious faith (or non-faith) of their parents; children who are insecurely attached are far less likely to internalize those values or that faith.  That means we can have all the family Rosaries we want, but if we scare our kids, ignore them, threaten them, make them feel invisible, stupid, or bad, then they will be easy pickins for the goofy stuff they’ll encounter in adulthood that masquerades as deeper meaning.   READ MORE

For more information on raising Catholic kids check out a copy of Parenting with Grace:  The Catholic Parents’ Guide to Raising (almost) Perfect Kids!