| I don't think "shielding" children is a longterm answer. One of the reasons, we started going to UU Church so my children would have exposure to what is out there with a framework with which to observe. So, when my younger child was told on the playground that he was going to hell because he did not believe in Jesus Christ, he was able to respond in a thoughtful respectful age appropriate manner. |
Exactly. OP this is not a family you want to be around or a good influence for your son. |
Nice try, but I don't buy it. Kids simply do not use the playground as a platform to threaten eternal damnation. |
| It was ugly and hurtful, but you are well off without her. Such an over reaction. |
Actually somebody told me this on the playground once. My thoughtful respectful age-appropriate response was, "What?!" |
Nope. Didn't happen. |
*Fingers in ears* Lalalalala, I can't hear you! |
| Who needs friends like this? Drop her like a rock and don't look back. She's a nutcase. |
OP, I'm not going to read through all the responses, but I wanted to say you have no responsibility to manage this woman's control issues. So sorry you had to endure that nonsense. This has everything to do with her and nothing to do with you or religion. I encountered something similar with a nut-job mom, and, speaking from experience, I found the best way to deal with it was to stay calm and do not engage with her histrionics. The school year just started, so I'm sure your son will make more friends in no time! |
Again, nice try. |
|
1. We have a faith. If I learned that my child had been shown anything that was non-religious on a playdate I would be upset. I don't like being proselytized about atheism, and I especially don't want my child being proselytized.
2. however, my reaction would be. "Since we have a faith, do you think in the future you could not show my child any non-religious content on palydats", rather than "That's it, you horrible person, no playdates ever again!". |
|
What a story OP!
I have a very different one. We are Orthodox Christians, so Veggie Tales is definitely not our version of Christianity. In fact some would consider it disrespectful. My son, though, absolutely loved everything Veggie Tales and he had quite a collection thanks to some neighbors. His best friend at the time was a girl from a mildly religious (or possibly secular) Jewish family. One day the friend was over for a 3 hour play date and I realized at the end as the mom was coming in that he had played religious veggie tales music for the full 3 hours. The girl had picked up songs and both were belting them out. I started apologizing to the mom and tried to assure her we weren't trying to proselytise. She looked at me very puzzled and said "All that kid music sounds the same to me; I don't even hear the words." The two remained good friends for a couple more years and the mom always seemed eager to drop her daughter at our house. |
I took me a few times before I realized Veggie Tales had religious undertones! We do not practice religion but my kids like Veggie Tales and the lessons are good. So why not let them watch it. When they ask me about Jesus, I just say, "Some people believe...." and leave it at that. They accept that answer. OP, this woman is a psycho and I agree with PPs that you will make new friends very quickly once school starts. The ridiculous reaction of this woman was a "blessing" in disguise.
|
There are lots of non-religious things. When your child's teacher teaches math, do you consider that proselytizing about atheism? (Although there are apparently people who do think this about string theory.) When your child is on a playdate, and they play Hungry Hungry Hippos, do you consider that proselytizing about atheism? Yet both math and Hungry Hungry Hippos are non-religious. Proselytizing about atheism, in my opinion, would be a video whose purpose is to help children discover that There Is No God - And Religion Is A Lie! |
Around here this is unlikely. In other parts of 'Merica, likely. |