i fear that your questions may be coming very close to crossing guidelines Razzleberry, but because i can sense the sincerity in your question, i will make an attempt at some sort of acceptable answer...

for me, when i was young, i was taken to a place of worship by my mother who had all good intent i am sure...

when i left there i had done the thing that places such as that request... i asked for forgiveness and acceptance from one who is represented by the believers of that faith to be 'the only path' to salvation...

it was explained to me that i 'must' do this thing if i ever hoped for any chance of acceptance into a 'good' afterlife...

i did it because it seemed stupid not to... at that age, what did i know?

but my acceptance of 'that' didnt appear to fulfill what seemed to be promised to me at that time and i spent many years wondering why not..

i would just advise my child to find what feels comfortable to them... i would counsel them that life is a growing process, that there is not a number of years of life that when once reached, means they have learned all there is to know, or even all they need to know...

i think, imo, it is best for the child, to teach him or her that growth is something that can occur for a full lifetime... that understanding is something that will always be just out of reach, and thats ok, because to say that knowledge is mine, finally and completely, then closes the door to further learning... i do not believe that is a good frame of mind...

sorry if this offends anyone and i will gladly edit to meet guidelines