In a recent report out of Notre Dame called, "A Report on American Catholic Religious Parenting," authors, Justin Bartkus and Christian Smith, have defined the role of parents in transmitting the faith to their children in three modes.
As parent, you are the "Sponsor" of the faith - Because we no longer live in cultural neighborhoods and communities that communicate the faith, if a parent does not expose a child to the Catholic faith, then the probably will not be exposed at all. You are the point of access between the Church and your child.
As parent, you are the "Gatekeeper" of the faith - you decide what your child is exposed to. Do you have a Bible in your home? Do you read it? Do you read it to your child? Do you pray? Does your child see you pray? Do you pray with and for your child? Do you attend Mass and have Sunday revolve around God? If your child sees it modeled in the home, they then encounter the practice of faith in the home. In the report, it says, "To use another metaphor, parents are like the faucet, determining whether religious content will arrive in childrenl's lives at an occasional drip or in a regular flow.
As parent, you are the "Interpreter" of the faith - you are not a neutral medium. As your child experiences the faith through you, they will absorb your attitudes toward the doctrines and practices of the faith. You embody a specific manner of being Catholic. If your child does not "see" Catholicism in your "face," they will likely never gain sufficient familiarity with it to commit to practicing the faith in the long run.
I wish we had these when my children were younger! Unique window card for child to follow the mass, the steps to confession or the prayers of the rosary! Available in English or Spanish.