Iapos;m babysiting my friendapos;s kids tonight, they are 4 and 2. They have a very Christian upbringing, and church and religion are major influence in their lives. Iapos;m an atheist. But I would never try to influence another personapos;s child in this area. So this was challenging.
(We are reading a story about baby animals.)
Me: See the baby whale?
2 y.o.: Why does he look like that?
Me: Well, because nature made him that way.
2 y.o: No nature. God made him that way.
Me: Right.
(Reading another book where Donald Duck meets up with the chipmunks Chip and Dale.)
2 y.o.: (pointing at Dale) Why he named Dale?
4 y.o.: Thatapos;s what God named him.
Me: Actually his parents named him Dale. Like yours named you Julia and Steven when you were born.
4 y.o.: No. God named him.
Me: Honey, parents name their babies. Your mommy and daddy named you.
2 y.o.: (pointing at Dale) My mommy named him Dale?
Me: No, your mommy named you. A man named Walt Disney named the chipmunk Dale.
4 y.o.: Whoapos;s Walt Disney? (They donapos;t watch TV and have not been to Disneyland.)
Me: The guy who wrote this book.
2 y.o.: Nuh-uh. God made this book.
Me: Steven, God did not make this book. A bookmaker made this book.
(Stares of disbelief.)
Me: Some people have jobs to make books. Maybe one person writes the story, another draws the nice pictures, another prints the pictures and words on the paper so we can read it, and then the bookmaker puts this binding on the edge so it becomes a book.
4 y.o.: Well God made the bookmaker, and the man who draws the pictures.
Me: Right.
Sigh. They are in bed now. Dreaming of resurrections and other miracles, I suppose.
bateman school, basone jeanne, basone hollywood jeanne, basone hollywood, basone.
adventurous
