Child programs-JW verses Churches

by Jez 2 Replies latest jw friends

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  Jez

  I know that not all churches are like this, but the one that my little one goes to with her friend is AMAZING for their children's programs. The program is amazing, loving, and child oriented to teach their young members. I never knew that all they teach is that God loves them and wants them to make good decisions. It never crossed my mind to give them prizes for attendence, picnics every Sunday, rewards for remembering bible passages. There is no fear, only a high respect for God that is taught via coloring, games, skits, activities, building things, open discussions, pulling bible names out of a hat and discussing why that person is a good example or bad example....etc.

  WHY don't JW do all of this for our children? I have thought alot about it. They say that they are doing it bec in bible times, the children were always with their parents during worship and that it is the parents decision to rear them, not shirk this responsibility to others. What a lame excuse. So because Jesus gave sermons on mounts, does that mean that example should be followed and we should have no indoor KHs??? Same line of silly reasoning..

  They don't do it, because they want children to be BRAINWASHED not TAUGHT. My husband was shocked to realize at a meeting once that children were commenting about death, dying and armageddon at the KH. They don't even fully understand the implications of what they are being told to say, yet they are reciting adult words and concepts. How demented! He was shocked to realize that children were being subtly influenced by words such as death, worldly, them and us, armageddon, destruction, destroy, etc. They sit and listen and listen and listen to this 3x a week for years. They are taught at a young impressionable age to not question, to be quiet, to answer what is written out in front of you, to follow everyone else and do what they are doing, don't be different and accept or get slapped for 'making noise'. Think about what this symbolically means!

  Our poor children are turned into pychologically damaged adults, no wonder most of us are in counselling. I really feel sick about the dark dooming quietly threatening cloud that is placed over our children's head.

  GLAD I am out and my children too. I need to do alot of retraining, not just me but for them as well.

  Jez
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  Netty

  This is also a very big issue for me. Since I have had kids, I started looking around for different churches for my family to attend (Raised a JW, but out and faded for many years.) I was just so blown away at one church, the pastor called all the children up, sat down on the floor in a circle with them, and read cute little bible story (yes, nothing scary like armegeddon or death, just the God is love kind of stuff) My kids got all excited, the parents enjoyed watching their kids have fun with this.

  Now this other church I have been hitting and missing at, they realease the kids to their Sunday school, and they do all those types of wonderful things for kids, you have talked about. There is even a swingset and jungle gym by the classrooms, because sometimes they let them play a little before their Sunday school lesson.

  It really did make me think back to how awful it was being a JW child, having to sit for two solid hours without making a peep, couldnt color, read, bring toys, talk to your siblings, make a peep, or even have to go potty, without getting a big pinch. Come on, I had to do all this from four years of age, you are right, I didnt understand a word they were saying. My dad used to tell me to listen for words, like Jehovah, Jesus, Paradise, whatever, and mark down everytime I heard the speaker say the word. OH HOW EXCITING for a four year old...

  What a difference it would have made for us, to even be released for 10 minutes to go play or swing, and then come back to the boredom.

  Great post, something I have thought about alot recently.
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  funkyderek

  I remember one of the last meetings I went to, where the speaker was comparing the Watchtower's teaching methods with those of other churches' that provide separate instruction for children. It was hard to defend, so he merely ridiculed the idea of Sunday school (it was enough, as he was quite literally preaching to the converted) and to prove his point that "Jehovah's Organization"? looked after its younger members, he used as examples the abundance of literature the Watchtower has produced for children. He had all of them on the platform: the YPA book, the Youth book, the Great Teacher book, the Bible Stories book and the Paradise Lost book. Amazing! Five books in as many decades, at least one of them wholly unsuitable for children.