I am raising my children Wiccan, with no apologies. I have two daughters, who are now ages 7 and 9. I thought about it carefully (for I was initially raised liberal Christian), but I came to the conclusion that all children are raised with the beliefs of their parents, and it would be pointless and potentially harmful to try to withhold my spiritual beliefs from them. I believe that Wicca sets a high ethical standard for all devout practitioners, and I'm pleased to see caring and thoughtful children arise from those beliefs.
There are many potential obstacles with raising children with a minority faith in this heavily Christian country. My children have had to learn about "discretion" at a very early age. I had to teach them that some people would be intolerant and misunderstand us, but I have always tried to teach my children to be understanding of different ways of viewing the world. I teach them to honor the different ways people connect with God and Goddess. We practiced role-playing what might happen if someone tried to give them a hard time about their religion. They are emotionally prepared to shrug off an insult to their faith. The result is bright, self-confident children who know how to listen well, speak out when appropriate, and hold their tongue when needed. (Sounds pretty fantastic, eh?)
I am fortunate in that my mother, father, sister, and spouse are all also Pagan, so I have an entire support network for raising my children with the Pagan world view. My children have made friends with other Pagan children, and I think that's important for them. When we go to gatherings, Pagan children playing together is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. They are truly our future. These children are being taught how to love and honor the earth on a very fundamental level. They are being taught tools of self-empowerment, and the importance of living in a caring community. They learn to compare their own family experiences with the world at large, and to draw their own conclusions.
My family celebrates the Sabbats, sometimes with our extended Circle, sometimes alone, but my children have always been included in our celebrations. We are a family Circle, so we tailor our celebrations to include them, and we teach them the holidays so they come to the Circle with understanding. My children are also learning the more practical aspects of Craft work, including meditation and magick. (My 7 year old daughter is a natural at scrying with a crystal ball... a difficult skill for many adults!)
My children enjoy watching shows like "Charmed" and "Buffy", and we're all huge Harry Potter fans, because they have the self-confidence to distinguish between make-believe magick and what real witches do. We enjoy fictional magick for the same reason non-Pagans do... it's fun. But we don't get offended by the green-faced witches at Halloween. My kids have been taught that those are the "make-believe" witches, and with a conspiratorial whisper behind our hands, we say "We know who the real witches are..."
They are us, and our children are our future.
~Flame RavenHawk
February 9, 2003