Being a Child, a Spiritual Child

How can spirituality be recognized in preschoolers? How do preschoolers express their spiritual being? How can we access this spirituality when interviews are inappropriate, and in-depth conversations are not adapted to their language abilities? These questions need to be answered in order for us to nourish and better sustain young children's spirituality. This article addresses this problem from the perspective of practical theology. It includes both a phenomenological and a hermeneutical approach to the question, and is rooted in the philosophical and theological concept of 'being'. The analysis of data highlights three modes of the child's being: Sensitive, Relational and Existential. It also explores the possible theological meaning of being a child.