Teaching Spirituality to Little Ones

Alison Rose Levy of The Huffington Post poses the following question regarding spirituality: “What if we considered it to be a foundational coping skill, a guide for every other action in our lives?,” rather than a deeply religious process. Amidst the secular versus non-secular debate is a program called Spirituality For Kids (SFK) , which seeks to nurture spirituality as this kind of coping skill and daily guide.
 
The founder of SFK, Karen Berg, says that teachings about “emotional intelligence” are severely lacking in most school settings.  A recent study on the program found the following benefits from SFK: sociability, self-esteem, sense of purpose and problem-solving. In our teaching-to-the-test culture, it’s obvious that these get left behind.
 
SFK operates a program in New York City and as far as Malawi, where millions of AIDS orphans must take care of sick parents, in addition to themselves, all the while dealing with the emotional struggles of both. SFK has given the kids the spiritual tools for coping and the outcome is concrete: fewer children are ending up on the street or in jail since the program began there. [Huffingtonpost.com]