Jehovah Witness Beliefs

Jehovah Witness Beliefs

by: Twiggy - 17-06-08 14:47

Can anybody help or does any one have experience with including a child into a day setting who is a jehovahs witness? The child hasn't started yet and we will be arranging a meeting with the family, but mum did mention that the child (2yrs) is not to join in any christmas songs, decorations and cards, easter activities etc. She is fine with other fesitvals apart from these. How can we include her without excluding the other children by not doing them. If we moved her to another room or she did a seperate activity then wouldn't we be excluding her? and if we stopped celebrating Christian festivals then we are excluding the other children? i have no experience in this situation, please help 

by: Maestro

I would point out the equal opportunities policy,or better still give the parents a copy. It would be a nightmare if all the parents started demanding which festivals they would like their children to celebrate and not celebrate.

The child should learn some understanding of the other religions that are about. We celebrate all the main festivals and some of them we have no children who specifically celebrate them anyway. We do it to teach the children an awareness of those around us, acceptance, and an understanding of equal opportunities.

It will be very hard especially at christmas time to remove the child from everything that is christmas! There is no reason why the child should be removed from what's going on, they don't have to take part and celebrate it but alternative things can be done at the same time if needed. e.g. if the others are making cards then the child can make a picture.

I think personally you should reinforce your equal opportunities policy. What would you do if a christian mother expressed a requirement for her child not to celebrate muslim festivals?

It gets a bit of a joke sometimes...

by: Chrissy

I agree with Maestro, ask to meet the parent(s) and simply go through the settings equal opportunities policy and be human say that as a practitioner you can completely understand and respect their views but to run a successful setting with many beliefs and cultures then that child will come in contact in some ways with a range of fun and exciting cultures (which is part of life) - sadly if they don't like it they will have to get a nanny who can do one on one, and 100 percent go with what the parents desire. Good luck, stay strong to your settings beliefs.

by: Tunja

Mum has opened a dialogue with you. Take advantage of this and talk to her. Remember equal opportunities applies to allowing the Jehovah's witness their beliefs.

You would not make a pork casserole and expect Jewish children to eat it as well would you? You would offer them a similar but alternative meal. 

Witness beliefs differ from other mainstream Christian faiths in several areas. They do not believe in the Holy Trinity, but believe in Satan as an active force responsible for the worlds problems. Although they do not celebrate Christmas or Easter they remember Christ’s death.

Witnesses do not celebrate any holidays or festivals belonging to another religion with the exception of Christ’s death (Memorial) and this includes Christmas, Easter, Halloween, New Year, Sukkot, Mothers Day, Diwali, Valentines Day, Guy Fawkes etc. Witnesses believe these originate from false religions and that God disapproves of them.

Although wishing a Witness ‘Happy Birthday’ or ‘Happy Christmas may cause offence to some, they respect the right of others to celebrate these holidays. When planning your activities remember children do not celebrate birthdays, this includes eating any birthday cakes or exchanging birthday presents and cards. However, other gifts can be exchanged at different times of the year. 

by: Tissue

I have had Witness children in the setting where I work. These children have a strong understanding of their belief, and there has never been problems when they do not take part in celebrations. 

Some of our Muslim children do not take part in Christmas celebrations, others do.

We have planned slightly different activities so children had a choice.  All our children are able to opt out of adult focused activities if they wish.

by: kaz

We a witness child for just one term before going to school and I did everything as suggested above, but she still went home singing 'we wish you a merry Christmas!' 

kaz

x 

by: EarlyYearsConsultant

Learning about other religions doesnt mean that you have to celebrate them does it?

I managed a day nursery and had three families of Jehovah's Witnesses in I explained the equal opps policy as Maestro suggests, they were happy with all of it.

They decided as parents that they would collect their children a bit earlier on certain festival days... it was actually a joy to have them as a couple of the mums came in and worked with our pre school children for a session raising awareness about what the JW's do and why... they made it fun and exciting (not like the sterotyped JW at all) the staff enjoyed themselves and so did the children.

I hope you can find a way of including this family (most of all he child) and maybe by the time they leave you they will be more open minded... I say take the nurturing approach rather than the policy led "this is what we do here and thats that" approach.

All the best

From Mikeyboi x

PS you might want to tell them that the making of Cards/ decorations is not a forced production line of activities they are activities that the children can CHOOSE to participate in if they want to... if the other children are making christmas cards then perhaps the children from this family can make "I love you" cards instead it doesnt really matter as its not product its the process and the learning involved... after all christmas is absolutly not about the decs and cards to christians its about the birth of Jesus and ultimatly what that means to folks who choose to believe in this.

by: Chrissy

Hi - I agree, at our setting we also do try and make sure that the cards simply don't revolve around the festival, and we tried and worked out great by not directly 'celebrating' Diwali, but had one of our parents bring in sari's and we provided an array of materials for the children to use in role play without making direct links to the festival and its celebration.

by: jo

I have read through the other responses that you have received, and maybe I can show it from another angle.  I am an experienced nursery practitioner, and have been in management for many years, along with being a Jehovah's Witness myself. 

It can be tricky to cater for so many preferences, but we need to tread carefully when equal opportunities is involved.  I myself had a Jehovah's Witness child attend my nursery.  I met with the parents and explained that we would be happy for the child to engage in alternative activities at Christmas time, but that we would not actually remove the child from the room as it would be confusing and potnetially upsetting for the child.  So rather than the child making a Christmas card, or painting a Santa picture, they would make a snow/glitter/winter picture. 

None of the team felt that they were dealing with a higher work load, as other reasonable adjustments are made for other children, such as making a special card for grandad on fathers day as the child does not have a father, or making a card personal to their own religious beliefs, whether muslim, jewish or Christian.

When caring for children we need to consider the background of the family and cater for any reasonable adjustments that are necessary.  Surely you would not think twice about catering for a child who could not eat dairy in their diet, so the same can be said for a child who does not celebrate Christmas. 

You could also use it as a learning opportunity to teach the children about culture and beliefs, and broaden their knowledge and understanding of the world, through discussion about her beliefs, obviously in line with the child's understanding.

I agree that it is very important to discuss this matter with the parents, and be up front with them and say that you have not encountered this before. 

In answer to your questions, there is no reason for her to be excluded, just adapt the activity.  So rather than make an easter card, make one just for the parents, and when singing christmas songs, maybe she can help set up for lunch with a carer, or be a helper in some other way that means that she is not left alone.

I dont know if this has been of any help, and I'd be happy to give more support if you need it. 

by: Curly

Chris Roblett needs to understand that parents adhering to religious beliefs is not about a 'personal desire' or whim, it is a fundermental human right. The United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child Article 14 says a child has a right to practise their religion and parents have the right to decide how to guide their child. This is international law.

So to be an inclusive setting, reasonable adjustments should be made to ensure a families' religious beliefs are respected and a child is not expected to do something against their conscience.

Of course it maybe unavoidable that a child may 'go home singing, We wish you a merry Christmas'. If a child doesn't hear it at nursery then s/he will learn it in the supermarket. However settings have a responsibility to promote a child's individuality and meet their needs. How each setting does this should be agreed between parent and professional.

by: Chrissy

I think Curly, I haven't made my point clearly, I wouldn't have the position as Manager without showing understanding and knowledge and firm beliefs of the Rights of the Child ... But thank you for pointing that out. We do need to fulfill a duty of acre for our children - all of them, but as I tried to point out and Jo has rightly said, we can't remove children form our groups or hand pic the activities - I stand stong by saying that we have policies for a reason and as a setting with several beliefs and cultures we need to find a middle ground or we would go crazy trying to implement evry persons' individual culture .

by: redsky

It can be difficult depending on the stance of the parents, when I was working in a school nursery we had a little girl who was a JW and in December we helped her make snowy cards etc, and explained to the other children about her beliefs (and also other children's beliefs who were there), and all was going fine. Then dad came to pick up one day, took one look at the christmas decs on the wall that the other children had made, and took her out of the nursery for the rest of the month! He didn't want her in the room if it was decorated for Christmas, but how can you tell the rest of the children they are not allowed to display their Christmas work? It can be a slightly trickier situation than simply not believing in something, as some parents just do not want their children to know it even exists. You will need to talk to the parents and find out exactly what they do and do not expect the child to be exposed to. I would not say my example is a "typical JW", I have met a few JW families and no others have been as strict, but it is important to find out exactly what they expect because otherwise it could cause problems.

by: Curly

But Chris I think what you say you believe about the rights of the child appears to conflict with what you say you will do.

Refusing to remove a child from a situation that compromises a child's religious beliefs is the same as serving pork sausages and saying to the Muslim child "well it's on our menu and in our policy so if you don't like it don't eat it but there is nothing else.

Please Chris, tell me you wouldn't do that.

by: twink

We had a Jehovah's Witness child in our setting and will be having their sibling from next term.  They were very helpful and were able to give us a booklet that explained the way they perceive the festivals that we celebrate. this gave us a new insight into the culture of Jehovah's Witnesses. the child did not seem disturbed that he was not joining in with certain activities and if we were doing Easter, for example, he was allowed to colour a rabbit or an egg but as long as we did not talk about the religious side of things that was ok.  His parents were very good and were approachable, they offered to take him out of pre-school over the christmas period.  I did an essay on Jehovah's Witnesses for my foundation degree and after reading about their religion indepth I have some understanding. what has to be remembered is that parents and children have rights and these have to be respected, an equal opportunities policy is there for every one, even those who want to be different.

by: Twiggy

Wow, thanks everyone, this has been a great help