Raising spiritually aware children can feel confusing, so let me put you at ease.  It isn’t your responsibility.  It belongs to the Universe.  You may be the most spiritually unaware parent or grandparent on the planet and, through no fault of your own, still end up raising a spiritually aware person (the converse also happens). 

You can cooperate with Universal Wisdom in raising aware children.  The principles for doing so apply to all flavors of religion or spirituality.

You best support children’s spiritual development by being spiritually mature yourself.  How do you know you have arrived at spiritual adulthood?  You know, because your identity has shifted.   You no longer perceive the form of your physical body – with its ego, personality, thoughts and emotions – as who you are authentically.  You know, theoretically and experientially, that you are the spaciousness of Being beyond that form. 

The deeper this realization, the more you equip yourself to help your children see it.  When you embrace the truth that you are not your body, personality, thoughts or emotions, you know your children are not theirs either.  These forms occur within the context of who they really are – pure Being.

You can support children to develop a concept of their Being as an inner wisdom that guides them.  Make it fun and come up with a name for this wisdom – like Inner Guide or Wise Friend or Inner Pal.  They will understand the concept, especially since they have not had years of conditioning to squash their intuitive awareness of the spiritual.

Encourage your children to listen to and trust their inner guidance.  Validate their intuitive insights if/when others (teachers, friends, other parents, relatives) pooh-pooh or invalidate them.

When they have upsets, after you have listened to their feelings and given space for their expression, you might ask:  “When you listen inside, what does your Inner Wisdom say about [the situation]?”  Then be quiet and let them answer.

When appropriate and natural, talk spontaneously about your own inner Wisdom and guidance and how you access it.  You will thus model for your children how to listen and stay open to it.

The ego thrives in the secretive darkness of unawareness.  You give your kids a head start at identifying and handling their drama if, at an early age, you help them expose the ego by shining the light of their awareness onto it. 

Be creative in teaching them to observe their emotions and reactions without judging them.  That requires your non-judgmental attitude.  Instead of feeling at the mercy of the ego’s antics and shenanigans, being the observer of the drama empowers your children to choose their responses.  

If you stay present and tuned in to your own Inner Guidance System in handling their drama, you will give them the gift of listening to and trusting their own.  For a parent or grandparent, there is no better or more sacred honor and privilege!