Do Christians brainwash their kids?

So a while back I was sitting in a meeting with some wonderful Christian leaders and we got into a little discussion about our children and their faith. Someone said something about having children become Christians at such as young age as brain washing them and it wouldn't be sincere. I had to sit and think about it. I mean honestly it kind of makes sense to say something like that if you are trying to make little replicas of yourself.

But I’ve been thinking about this now off and on for the last few months ever since it happened because for me I need some serious clarity to my thoughts and how I really think we should be with our own children. If all I am doing is ‘brainwashing them” to believe as I do is that really right? We think of brainwashing someone like a negative thing. When in reality when you are brainwashing someone it is you repetitively insisting upon them your thoughts and beliefs in something hoping they will one day believe and think the exact same way.

So technically we brain wash our kids to learn their ABC’s right? We repeat it a thousand times and another thousand times again if we have to in order to make those letters stick.  We tell them how to count to 100 over and over and over again. Why? Because we believe that they have to know those basic facts in order to succeed at life. But, that is a belief most people have and it doesn’t go against the structure of our natural world.  The world where we don’t have to question the existence of letters and numbers and how they work because we know, after going through school ourselves, that these really are necessary to succeed in the future.

However, to me faith is the same thing. I am sure beyond a doubt of anything that my faith in God and his Son Jesus Christ is a necessity not just for this world but for all of eternity. I believe it with my whole being just as much as I believe that the ABC’s are a necessity for my children to graduate from high school and go on to succeed in their adult life some day.  So are we brain washing our kids? Call it whatever you want to but if you believe something without a shadow of a doubt aren’t you sure to try and tell not just your kids but also the world around you to convince them of the truths you know? 

 I know my children will end up making their own choices in life and what they believe in their future regarding God and Jesus I cannot control. But I can control the environment in which they are raised in so that when I get to heaven one day I do not have to be questioned by God as to why I didn’t try and raise my child with a sound Biblical background. At least I’ll know I tried my best to raise them to know God and fear and love him all at the same time.  If that is brainwashing my children then I guess that is what it is.  But to me it’s helping them grow up with a sound belief in the one thing I know as well as my ABC’s, that Jesus Christ is God and that we are to fear and respect and love him with our whole being.