Praying at a non-denominational daycare?

May08CapeBride · November 2010

My bestfriend went to pick up her daughter at daycare the other day and they were praying with the kids when she got there. This is a non-denominational daycare and they didn't mention anything to the parents in the daily schedule about praying, but when she asked them they said they do this before eating and before taking a nap all the time. This really upset my friend since she's not religous, and she just switched daycares too! She doesn't want her DD to now feel left out if they are going to continue to pray throughout the day, that's not what she's paying her daughter to be there doing either. Any suggestions on what she should do? I told her to talk to them about it with the daycare and see what their solutions to this problem are first. She may have to switch again.

sourpatchkids · November 2010

You're right, she just needs to talk to them and go from there. I know as far as non-denominational churches go, they don't group themselves with any specific religion, they just preach the Bible straight forward. So, if I had DS in a non-denom daycare, I would not be surprised that they prayed with the children.

smynings_bride · November 2010

I think it depends on how much she likes other aspects of the daycare. I'm Jewish and my daycare is Christian based and today's song of the day was "Jesus loves the children." It's right near my office and I can visit her at lunch and it's a fabulous school. DD is too young to understand now anyway and I don't mind if she's exposed to other religions. I have Christian friends with children that attend daycare at the local Jewish center who feel the same way.

mopsie · November 2010

smynings_bride:
I think it depends on how much she likes other aspects of the daycare. I'm Jewish and my daycare is Christian based and today's song of the day was "Jesus loves the children." It's right near my office and I can visit her at lunch and it's a fabulous school. DD is too young to understand now anyway and I don't mind if she's exposed to other religions. I have Christian friends with children that attend daycare at the local Jewish center who feel the same way.

I'm Jewish, and I would NOT be ok with my daughter singing "Jesus loves the children". I'm all for learning about different religions and respecting everyone's religious beliefs, but that would cross the line for me. To each his (or her) own, I guess.

MrsBalletStar05 · November 2010

Wow! Now I am all about Jesus and praying, but I respect those who don't have that preference and am really surprised that the daycare would do this!! Heck, I would be surprised to learn this!

Sareclark · November 2010

I wouldn't be surprised. To me non-denominational=religious. I would assume the daycare was religious but not associated with any particular church.

mkanderson85 · November 2010

I teach at a public school and our district prays before everything and we have our opening meeting of the school year at a church. This bothers the crap out of me.

It would bother me if I was at a daycare that didn't specify this. Our daycare is "christian based" and they sing songs and all and I'm okay with that. I wouldn't be okay with it if it was not labeled as it is.

cmhicklin · November 2010

Sareclark:

I wouldn't be surprised. To me non-denominational=religious. I would assume the daycare was religious but not associated with any particular church.

This. Nondenominational does not mean nonreligious. If she doesn't want her child going to a religious based daycare, then she shouldn't send LO to one.

rlscheck · November 2010

cmhicklin:
Sareclark:

I wouldn't be surprised. To me non-denominational=religious. I would assume the daycare was religious but not associated with any particular church.

This. Nondenominational does not mean nonreligious. If she doesn't want her child going to a religious based daycare, then she shouldn't send LO to one.

This. I'm not non-demoninational, but I have attended services at a church that practices this. This particular church was very, very similar to the normal Lutheran services I attend. It doesn't mean "no religion".

rubredvelvet · November 2010

I would not be ok with that. I am alright for her to learn about these things later, but I don't want y daughter growing up thinking everyone does those sort of things. Even though its preschool, and may be private, I heavily believe in the separation of church and just about everything.

karatechrissy · November 2010

Um... It's a non-denominational daycare, how do you not get 'religious' out of that?? Non-denominational just means they believe in the bible. So I would assume prayer would be part of the childrens day there. If she doesn't want a religious place she shouldn't have put her child in a 'non-denominational' daycare. :-/

kimtritz · November 2010

karatechrissy:
Um... It's a non-denominational daycare, how do you not get 'religious' out of that?? Non-denominational just means they believe in the bible. So I would assume prayer would be part of the childrens day there. If she doesn't want a religious place she shouldn't have put her child in a 'non-denominational' daycare. :-/

This. If your friend wants non-religious, send them to a daycare/preK like Kindercare.

tessab2515 · November 2010

mopsie:

smynings_bride:
I think it depends on how much she likes other aspects of the daycare. I'm Jewish and my daycare is Christian based and today's song of the day was "Jesus loves the children." It's right near my office and I can visit her at lunch and it's a fabulous school. DD is too young to understand now anyway and I don't mind if she's exposed to other religions. I have Christian friends with children that attend daycare at the local Jewish center who feel the same way.

I'm Jewish, and I would NOT be ok with my daughter singing "Jesus loves the children". I'm all for learning about different religions and respecting everyone's religious beliefs, but that would cross the line for me. To each his (or her) own, I guess.

OK, I am completely dumb when it comes to the Jewish faith. Can I just ask, what's with this song? I'm Catholic, but I am not familiar with the song. Just from the title it doesn't seem bad, but I'm guessing there's more to it?

Sharon&Paul · November 2010

tessab2515:
mopsie:

smynings_bride:
I think it depends on how much she likes other aspects of the daycare. I'm Jewish and my daycare is Christian based and today's song of the day was "Jesus loves the children." It's right near my office and I can visit her at lunch and it's a fabulous school. DD is too young to understand now anyway and I don't mind if she's exposed to other religions. I have Christian friends with children that attend daycare at the local Jewish center who feel the same way.

I'm Jewish, and I would NOT be ok with my daughter singing "Jesus loves the children". I'm all for learning about different religions and respecting everyone's religious beliefs, but that would cross the line for me. To each his (or her) own, I guess.

OK, I am completely dumb when it comes to the Jewish faith. Can I just ask, what's with this song? I'm Catholic, but I am not familiar with the song. Just from the title it doesn't seem bad, but I'm guessing there's more to it?

I am Catholic too, but I know the Jewish faith only belives in the Old Testiment. They don't believe in Jesus or the New Testiment.

I have no issues with my children learning about other reiligions or attending other schools. We actually encourage our kids to become as educated as possible in ALL religions so someday they can decide which faith is best for them. I believe EDUCATION and expose is best. I definitely don't want to shelter my kids.

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