"You begin an atheist."

I don't think so. Going by memories of my own early childhood...and observation of many others...I'd say that people begin as very curious little beings, full of energy, and hungry to find out everything they can about the fascinating world all around them...NOT with any beliefs yet other than "I am" and "my parents are" "and so what's all this other stuff?"...and just wanting to investigate everything.

Thus they begin neither as atheists nor as "believers" (in something religious). They simply begin as curious people who want to find out about everthing, that's all. They neither believe nor disbelieve in a "God", because they haven't even been introduced to that idea yet or given it any thought.

Then their parents and everyone else around them set about teaching them whatever they think "reality" is....what's real and important and what isn't...which is strictly a question of opinion, of course, that opinion usually deriving from their familiar culture...and they gradually adopt a varied set of beliefs that are passed on to them by the older people around them...and generally agreed upon by most of their peers.

In my case, I acquired the general viewpoint of atheism early, since that was evidently what my parents believed....and like any other child at an early age, I assumed my parents had "the answers". (Ta-Da! Big drum roll...)

Later in adolescence one tends to assume quite the opposite about one's parents! ;-D But that's just part of growing up. Still later one usually finds out that they were probably right about some stuff they told you...and wrong about some stuff they told you....and one attempts to move on to the next thing.

In any case, atheism is the definite belief and assertion that there IS NO God, and I don't think that people start out even thinking about stuff like that. They begin to think about it once they start hearing a lot of opinions from other people about it...either pro or con. Whoever they trust and respect the most at that time is whoever they will be most inclined to believe.