Kids with religious parents are better behaved and adjusted than other children, according to a new study that is the first to look at the effects of religion on young child development.

An excellent article, a positive one that makes me feel good about something in this uphill battle I usually seem to be facing each day.

I cannot imagine even getting up tomorrow, much less facing the task of raising 39 tough children. I have always brought them all to church, we miss maybe one or two Sundays a year, and always for a decent reason.

I think it is very important for me to demonstrate my very strong faith in God to my children. They may rebel against me later, and they all do, but I have a very strong assurance that they’ll all return to their faith at some point.

Bartkowski thinks religion can be good for kids for three reasons. First, religious networks provide social support to parents, he said, and this can improve their parenting skills, secondly, the types of values and norms that circulate in religious congregations tend to be self-sacrificing and pro-family, and finally, religious organizations imbue parenting with sacred meaning and significance, he said.

Interestingly this was not specific to any denomination reminding me of something a local pastor once told us, “If you don’t believe in something, you’ll fall for anything.”

I spent my young adulthood searching for significance, nearly a decade in which I feel that I floundered, eventually finding myself in a non-denominational church that fed my soul in so many ways right when I needed it. Now, 25 years later, I remain happy, satisfied and cement strong in my faith.

I’m not saying you can’t raise older adopted children without religion, I’m simply saying I’m glad I didn’t try to do so. This is hard enough with a firm conviction in my heart that I’m doing what I’m supposed to do, that I can go to God in prayer, and that my own religious convictions speak volumes to my hyper-vigilant children who watch my every move.

This adds yet another layer of trust in my children, they seem to have more faith in me to do the right thing, and they meet and are taught by many other adults, over the course of their childhood, that share such positive values and beliefs.