In a time of growing division and increasingly violent rhetoric, it can feel impossible to find our way back to a peaceful culture. But an organization called Spiritual Playdate, founded by a group of interfaith moms, is fighting to change that.
With government institutions devoted to peace and education often failing to change culture, it falls on individuals, families, and neighborhoods to build cultures of peace and resilience that can outlast any funding cut. Spiritual Playdate is answering that call with regular online events and activities to help families and kids aged 5-11 build lifelong skills for peace.
Spiritual Playdate started with a simple premise: that everyone, including kids, deserve a safe space to express and explore their beliefs. The task of holding safe space for discussion of diverse religious beliefs soon transformed into something much larger: the task of teaching kids the skills they need to hold life’s big questions, and to engage with others who may disagree on the answers in a peaceful and emotionally regulated way.
Soon the group was searching world religions and the social sciences alike for tools to help with a much broader mission: teaching their kids how to welcome big emotions without being overwhelmed by them, and how to engage with others in ways that give and invite respect.
As the years passed, one thing became clear: the world needed this work. And what started as a gathering of moms began hosting Zoom calls with people around the world seeking faith education.
“We’re unique in that we address the spiritual aspect of values. We discuss general life skills, but also spiritual questions of purpose, meaning, and belief systems. This is a real gap we see in dialogue: inclusive skills for peace and safety that can reach across religious boundaries,” says cofounder Edwina Cowell.
Spiritual Playdate now boasts an impressive network of global affiliates, hosting live online conversations where attendees can listen and speak to experts on topics ranging from community safety and violence prevention to parenting in interfaith families. Their latest move offers an affordable subscription to their ever-growing media library to entities from businesses seeking to offer unique employee benefits to families, schools, houses of worship, martial arts studios, and barber shops.
Respect is the theme of Spiritual Playdate’s current community challenge. To complete the Respect Challenge, they invite children and adults to come together and read and repeat the In Lak’ech poem by Luis Valdez:
“You are my other me.
If I do harm to you,
I do harm to myself.
If I love and respect you,
I love and respect myself.”
You can help spread a culture of peace by amplifying the Respect Challenge on social media. Post a video to Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, or YouTube of yourself and another person speaking this affirmation to each other. Close your video by challenging another user to complete the challenge, too!
To help spread respect far and wide, you can use the hashtags #respectchallenge, #respectcool, #makerespectcoolagain, and #respectiscool. You can tag @spiritualplaydate on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram and @spiritualpd on X for higher visibility.
We invite you to go to www.spiritualplaydate.com to find out more about how we are empowering children (and the adults who love them) to live in peace.
Writer’s Bio: Catherine Carr is a writer, publishing consultant, and a Spiritual Playdate co-creator. She is the author of Breaking Your Bonds: Finding Freedom Through Adversity and World Soul: Healing Ourselves and the Earth Through Pagan Theology. She has spoken at the Parliament of World Religions and writes regularly for The Wild Hunt, The Crazy Wisdom Community Journal, and others.
Explainer Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiHo33HsKTU&pp=ygUSc3Bpcml0dWFsIHBsYXlkYXRl
Spiritual Playdate began with three busy moms struggling to find a way to engage with their kids on a social, emotional, and spiritual level. Their goal was to create a time together in which they could share their beliefs and be heard; where everyone has permission to explore their ideas and feelings — a time that would also be fun!
Footprint for Fariness:
Spiritual Playdate is a new online program designed to help small groups of parents and children explore interfaith spirituality and life’s issues together in a creative and engaging Playdate format. Playdates can take place at home, at a house of worship, at a yoga studio, or any comfortable space with like-minded friends or community members. Our website provides all of the topics and resources for adults and kids to talk, sing, meditate, and play in a new and meaningful way.
Peacock Finds Peace (Calm your big feelings): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z-PsTAoUgw&t=5s
Meet Peacock! 🦚 In this beautifully animated short, kids learn to calm their bodies and minds through simple, fun mindful breathing.
Part of Spiritual Playdate’s global peace education movement, it helps children build confidence, emotional strength, and inner calm.
Spiritual Playdate offers a 6 months of full PLUS Membership for free
Spiritual Playdate offers a 6 months of full PLUS Membership for free using the coupon code SAFEKIDSNOW2025. This provides access to complete curriculum—Soul Talks, Pop Chats, books, music, games, and activities.
