This might seem like the wrong time of year, but on X-mas eve we sat in a different section of for Church (Catholic). Ds (just turned 6) saw the Stations of the Cross and got this very scared grimace on his face (they are very garish looking). We weren't in Church 2 mins. and ds turns to me and says, "What IS that? WHAT are they doing to Him?"

Ds is very innocent about Jesus and the Easter story. The scene was where they were nailing Jesus to the cross. Perfect.

Ds is very sensitive and I don't want to turn him off Church for good. He hates anything dealing with violence, people treating other people meanly, etc. He is very empathic.

Anyway, he is way beyond his years, sometimes I think he is 60 and not 6. What do I say to him?! Do I just give him a VERY watered down version - he already saw them nailing Jesus to the cross! Ds has never liked church, to begin with. If I blow this he'll never want to step foot in a church again.

Please don't flame me, but although I am Catholic, and I definitely want ds to make his First Communion, dh likes the Methodist church and I am Much much more comfortable there surroundings wise. I also have a thing about violence/blood/etc. and depictions of the cruxifiction haunted/haunt me all the time. I know it ended up well, but you have to admit the Catholic church does dwell on the blood and guts. But having been raised Catholic, I do believe in the Eucharist and want ds to have that, I agreed with it when we got married in the Catholic church. So that's why we're going the Catholic route now, but I must admit we probably will attend another church after ds makes his First Communion.

Sorry this is so long. I've dreaded telling ds anything about the Easter story, especially since I don't feel qualified to tell him about it. Thanks for any and all advice.

How does he feel about books? There are some excellent books in Bible bookstores that help children to understand the Resurrection story. They are varied in detail and perspective. So, I'm sure you could find something that the two of you could read together and discuss. One that my kids liked at an early age (though it may be a little young for your son) was The Best Thing about Easter by Christine Harder Tangvald.

My children didn't have as much of a problem understanding the story, because they attend Sunday school and is always presented in an age-appropriate manner there.

Has he asked more questions? How have you answered his questions so far? Maybe it's just best to answer his questions without providing every little detail. Just tell him what he asks. He'll learn more as he gets older and it won't seem so overwhelming all at once.

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Yes i agree....go to your local Christian Bookstore and read through some of the kids books regarding Easter. Pick the ones that you feel are appropriate for him. I have one that is very well done and beautifully illustrated. I will try to find the name and author.

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Jodie....Wife to Andrew (1995)
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Doesn't he go to Sunday School (or whatever the Catholic equivilant is)? I am sure they learn about it there. My kids all just know the story and have never given it a thought. It is just the way things are.

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Well, when he gets ready for communion they will for sure teach him about it.

Maybe you can focus on the resurrection part right now. I am sure he's seen a cross before, so you could always just tell him that Jesus died for our sins on the cross and leave it at that, without getting into the grossest parts just yet. I agree 100% about finding a good book for kids about it.

(Off topic, I am glad to see that there is someone else on here like me, I am Catholic and had both my kids baptized and ds1 has had communion, but we usually attend a different church. I believe in the catholic way of communion and baptism, and for me it was important to do that. But I had some experiences that have made it hard for me to go regularly to a catholic church right now. DS2 is probably more protestant than catholic. I feel kind of guilty to be doing both and I worry that my kids are going to be confused though.)

That would be GREAT!! Thank you!

Thank you everyone for your great answers. I will have to look for a good book or like Jodie said maybe she can get me a title. He has not asked any more questions but I want to be prepared because when I water something down he always knows I'm 'holding out on him' and asks Wants specifics. I don't want to blow this because it is so important. It's our fault, he should have been going to Church from day 1 - it would have been ingrained already. We are just very slipshod about going, - we'll do very well for awhile, then someone will get sick, we get out of the habit and stop going. Dh has not been baptized, but believes in Jesus.

So sometimes it's a little hard to get him to go to Church with us, and yes ds and I could go alone but dh is gone so much at work any precious time we have with him we're not going to be separated on the weekend. It's not dh's fault - I understand completely. I never push my religion on him - though he feels very left out because he can't take Communion in the Catholic Church. I tell him if he feels that strongly about it, to become Catholic and then he can take Communion. Well he's not into that, so I don't say it but I think it, "Then don't complain about not taking it if you don't really want to do anything about it".

Anyway, thanks for the book idea - why didn't I think of that?!

He can always go up and get a blessing from the priest. That is what my 7 yr old does. I have seen many adults do it also. we have a pretty big RCIA program.

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allgirls, mom to 3 girls