It comes down to you and your mother’s relationship. You have every right to raise your children in whichever manner you see best, but your mother is.. well your mother lol Some will tell you not to concede to your mother’s request since you’re irreligious, but like I said, it depends on the relationship between you and your mom. I would personally do it just to appease my mom and make her happy even if I don’t personally believe in it. I see it as doing no harm. Your children will still have the freedom to choose their own path regarding piety/spirituality.

Toss a little water on my kid's forehead to get my mom to shut up.....hmmm. I'm pretty sure I would pick the splash of water. This is different, it's not like you're altering body parts or indoctrinating them into a religion. My mom had me baptised I'm still an atheist. In the end, you have to go with your gut.

NO WAY! Water is diseased. Plus there is no evidence that drowning your spawn in water helps them in the future. tell your mum she is bonkers and to stay out of your way and let you raise your kids the way you want and if your kids want to be drowned in magic water later in life they have that choice. They made a choice for their own life.

To thing own self be true

My kids my choice. You can't be bullied by religion, that's how they work. Nip it in the bud. She will always tell them they are saved and use it to propogate the lies. Thats how they work. Brainwashing children is easy, that's what needs to stop. Letting them decide for themselves is the only fair thing for the children. Why do you think all muslim children are muslim, and on and on.

As a mom and grandma myself I understand this is a tough one. I imagine as a daughter you want to show your mother respect, and prevent things that hurt or upset her, which is admirable! That said, your choices as their mother should always be respected as the final decision. In my opinion a baptism is meaningless if the intent is not to raise your children in the belief system that requires this, so it would serve no purpose other than to falsely appease your mom. Not a great family dynamic you want to perpetuate regarding important issues. I think the healthiest action is for everyone to agree to disagree, or this push pull will cause continual unnecessary strife in an already difficult world to raise children in.

I think that sort of remote indoctrination is part of the problem, IMHO.

NO WAY...!!!!!!! Grow a spine and teach your children the truth. never compromise and stay logical and sane.

No, do not. Your kids might look back on their forced baptism as being a part of their identity, and that could cause them to turn to religion later in life. It's best, once the kids are of a mature age like 14 or 15, to let them decide on their own whether or not they want to be religious. As a moral person, you should let the kid get a baptism before they become an adult if they so wish, but you should not force a helpless baby to get a baptism, because, like I said, this forced ceremony could become a part of their identity later in life. Also, choose to be an individual whose beliefs have just as much legitimacy as any Christian's. They are your kids. Honestly, religion is a burden, so each child that is raised without it is a hope for the world. However, I would also like to point out that "no religion" does not mean "no values". You must raise your kids with structure and some level of moral boundaries besides their age, or else as soon as they are an adult (or even before) they could turn to a life of immorality, addiction, and misery. When they are an adult you can't be afraid of exerting some form of disapproval over any of their choices that you view as immoral and counterproductive in life, despite them being an adult. You are freeing your kids from a forced indoctrination of religion, but you are still their parent and must teach and expect things of them; shame is a forgotten virtue in today's world.

Ditto, Craig Peterson, well spoken! As long as the child is young enough not to develop any lasting memory of the ceremonial ablution I wouldn't make a big deal about it. You'd let them be a flower-child or ring-bearer in a dear friend's church wedding ceremony, wouldn't you? I allowed my kids to be baptized in our home by their maternal grandfather, who happened to be a very non-judgmental Episcopal Priest. I wed his daughter before a priest but in an orchard behind the church by torchlight (most fun wedding I've ever attended) because I wouldn't enter a church for 18 years after my best buddy was killed in my place in Vietnam. Ceremonies are not what affect us, the good examples of family are.

Since Baptism is a public advertisement that a person is a Christian and does not make you a Christian, you need to let your children decide and not you or other relatives.

Hi Yvette,

I know you love your mom, but her beliefs are her beliefs and that’s that. You can simply tell her that you don’t think the same way she does and hope she understands. I come from a very catholic background and i know how difficult it is not to do it, but if you do it’s like you’re lying to yourself and her for nothing. You can simply explain that you will raise your kids in an honest good way so that they can be productive and good human beings. I’m sure she will understand after making some faces...lol. Stay strong!

First this, then what? By appeasing her, you set a bad precedent.

Depends on how you get along with her

How old are your kids?

All Christian denominations practice a method of baptism ritual or initiation. Even the Indian Sikhs and some Gnostic groups, too.

Could you please tell us what specific church group you are with? (I pray you won't say, "Baptist" I'll fall off my chair! LOL , just a joke, pardon me.)

I always have this "Honor thy father and mother" in my mind. But that's exclusively for the most intelligent and most broad-minded persons - with all apologies to the sensitivities of the rest of humanity.

you should do what you want, they are your kids not your moms

If you don't believe in it and don't want to then no.

Tell your mom to back OFF! Don't worry. She can stand it. The question is whether you can stand her control.

Mom baptized my oldest in the kitchen sink while we weren't looking. Every Catholic knows how. I don't know about the other two; we guffawed so much over the first that she may have kept quiet thereafter.

My mom didnt baptize us either for the same reason some ppl accept that as devil worshipping which was hard to fend off as a kid but no I didnt baptize mine n encourage them to find their own beliefs. Im atheist their dad is Catholic. Theyve both turned to atheism... no one should be forced to choose a religion without their own research

No! My ex's gma made me swear I would baptize my kids before she died against my beliefs. I looked into it but it didnt happen. I feel bad I didnt do it but at the same time im glad I didnt do it. Im sick of the connotation that im a bad person for not being baptised n I'm glad it's becoming more common. Baptism is just another forced religious aspect n im sick of following that line.

My two kids were baptized, not as babies, but they were still quite young. I wasn't altogether happy about it, but yielded to pressure. It hasn't done them any harm. One's an atheist now. The other — well, I'm not really sure, but she's not strongly religious, anyway. Probably a 'weak theist' on the Dawkins scale.

Dear Yvette, our non-belief puts us in what feels like a safe place. You mom doesn't have that from any "place" other than religious belief. It will NOT hurt your child to be baptized, and will give your mother great comfort. It takes strength to go along with this, but we here have that strength, and empathy. Know this: I was taken to bible school throughout childhood, while getting an education in reason and science at public school. One Sunday, sitting respectfully in the pew at age eleven, listening to Reverend Weatherly's sermon, it popped into my head "this isn't true!", and I knew instantly it was like Santa Claus. I went through baptism after that, knowing it was done for form's sake, and to make others comfortable. Awareness, empathy, and genuine self-confidence are what makes us strong.

Parents have always decided the religion of their children. They should have the opportunity to decide for themselves.

Well according to scripture Deuteronomy 23:2.....LOL if they were born out of wedlock they are not eligible for heaven anyway. Not saying that you kids were I just read that today and thought it was funny. Again according to "scripture" simply believing in Jesus will not get you into heaven. There is a whole laundry list of things that must be done to get you there.