My son is 3y3m old and has been going to UU church since infancy. I was raised UU and my husband (he refers to himself as a “recovering catholic” lol) teaches Youth Group.

We have done our best to raise him in congruence with UU principles. We want him to have a strong moral foundation and community of acceptance, as well as feeling secure in his worth. Recently, my husband and I have had a lot of marital strain which has inevitably affected our kiddo. It’s not ideal, but we’re working on it together. Still, it’s hard not to analyze every normal toddler/child behavior as somehow Your Fault, and I think I’ve projected these fears a lot on to him recently. He’s just where he should be and doing great, but the parent guilt is real.

He moved from the nursery to RE last week. Today, his RE teacher let me know that he shared a joy and sorrow. His joy was that Monster (our very old and diabetic cat) died, but she’s always in his heart because he loves her so much. I believe that because he is confident in his place with the fellowship, he was comfortable in sharing something that is complex and emotionally conflicting. When he goes to church he knows he matters there. (This was particularly surprising because he has recently been less interested in sharing his emotions with me, which caused me some anxiety for the reason I previously mentioned.)

Hearing this beautiful perspective made me so, so happy that this community exists. There’s a lot of beauty, community, and worth here. We are so grateful for his church family (micro and macro) that love and support him in growing into an incredible human. I know what the church did for me but to see it manifest for my child just fills my heart to the brim.