I agree in that children learn from watching and observing. As for when to start bringing children to an organized service or church I'm not sure when would be the right age. What does everyone else think?

I believe the responses so far have hit this question on the nose. Children learn from observing their surroundings. It is amazing how innocent they are. They are always watching and learning whether anyone realizes it or not. Spirituality isn't something that you sit down and learn from a book although education in different forms can be helpful. Spirituality is more of a way of life.

Ah Yes, Stormie. This is such an important and intelligent thing to consider. The answer isn't; as Brother Ken stated so well; a yes or no deal.
No one is ever too young to learn anything. That being said; there are qualifications. None of which have anything to do with age, really. Both Ken and Sheila show such wisdom and complimentary understanding of a child's innocence and vulnerability. I could think of no better parents or God-parents for a my own child.
From my own experience in spiritual life and bringing others to God; there is one very important principle in that endeavor. It is that spirituality is based on attraction rather than promotion.
Children watch you; real close for the most part. They have the illusion that mommy and daddy are perfect; even though they don't know what that means. It is the same as it is for what we call "young love". They can do no wrong. Back to the watching. They particularly pay attention to how you interact with the world. How you treat people. How you treat mommy or daddy. Like Shiela said,it's innate. The soul is there. The route to teaching a child anything is through their question.
If your own "house" is in order; the time to teach or impart an understanding of transcendental truth is really up to the child. It is my behavior that shapes the questions at the same time that it prompts them. Unfortunately parents try to live up to some idea of who they think they are suppose to be as parents; which includes perfection. To be in a position of relationship with your child of answering their question with absolute candid open honesty and without exhibitionism will do very nicely. So really the only 2 important things in timing here are first; attraction not promotion- live a spiritual life. The second thing is to really let the first question they ask decide when it's time for you to share your experience with God and spirituality.
Remember; children are people with no experience. They are the easiest to teach anything to. They have no learned fears for the most part; and haven't been exposed to a lot of what people "think" and a million other ideas about what is truth and God. I don't believe for a moment that spirituality is passive. NO; it is active and it's spreading does not wait on time. It waits on welcome; for it is love in the truest sense of it's meaning.

This is a great question to 'wrestle' with, or perhaps clarify in my own thinking and faith. Thanks for posting it.

In my mind (and heart) spirituality/religion is more 'caught' than 'taught' as Sheila touched on as well. A more important question might be "Is what I model or teach my children at any age consistent to what I also believe?" Rather than, "Don't do what I do but do what I say!!!" Children are always learning, always absorbing. It's like the phrase "Your talk talks, and your walk talks, but your walk talks louder than your talk talks." I don't believe one can separate what is teaching, from what is spirituality, or what is religion from everyday life...I believe it's all spiritual, all sacred. I also like the analogy to sharing truths or teachings with our children at all ages (though age-appropriate) with feeding them. Would we ask the question, "At which age should we start feeding our children??" And is not the soul, the spirit, or whatever we call it as important as the physical? I also like the analogy of bringing our 5 year old child to the supermarket. We do not say, "OK, honey, here's your cart, you just go and get any kind of food you want to eat this week, and I'll meet you at the check out line." We buy and give our children healthy food to help them best grow. Why would we not do that spiritually? How can we not feed our children what 'feeds' us best, physically and spiritually?

Last Update on November 29, 2011 by Brother Ken

I view spirituality as something innate. It is not something that can be learned through study, as is religious doctrine. However, spirituality is something that we often forget about unless we are reminded. Sometimes we we don't pay attention until a tragedy occurs, or until we experience a personal loss. Other times, the awareness is more subtle, and grows over a lifetime of experiences. For those who have experienced glimpses into their spirits, they can point out how others may notice their own spirituality. However, there are no words, no lesson plans, no tried and true method. There are just gentle reminders that perhaps there is something more than being preoccupied with things - thoughts, people, jobs, knowledge, accomplishments, accumulations. Once you have a sense of this realm, which is something the mind could never grasp, you cannot help but reveal it through example, through simply living each moment fully. As you do so, people of all ages are invited to notice. Sometimes toddlers notice while adults do not. No worries. All is in divine order...