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Teaching Your Child About God - 5/5/2008 6:04:14 PM
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vixir
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My son is two years old (almost 3) and I've started praying with him. But I know he doesn't know what we're doing and why we're doing it. Is it too soon? When should you start teaching your child about God? I've thought about getting a little bible for toddlers, but I'm doubting that he would even understand and catch on. I'm not saying he's dumb... in fact, he's a really smart booger. But he's my first, so I don't know at what age children should start learning certain things. He's learning his numbers and his ABC's, and he's almost potty trained (he sleeps in a diaper). So maybe he will be able to comprehend God and the bible. Or at least start to as I teach him. I don't know... any advice would be great. Thanks!
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RE: Teaching Your Child About God - 5/5/2008 6:17:52 PM
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Szaftoo
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I don't believe children are ever too young to start teaching them about the Lord. Sing to them when you hold them, read Bible stories to them, pray over their meals and take them to church. They won't get all of it but they will see what is important to you.
Children know and understand more than you think, start now and always be ready when they have questions.
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RE: Teaching Your Child About God - 5/5/2008 6:21:30 PM
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pbaribeault
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At that age we had a "little blessings" devotional book for very young kids, and put it on the table. At supper each night my husband reads the little thing, then puts it in his own words and we talk about it. We actually intentionally started earlier than our dd was understanding, so that this would seem like something we've always done. We also make it a family devotional by applying the same idea to our own lives as adults, but using child-friendly vocabulary.
We've always done bedtime and most-mornings Bible stories - some kids Bibles have one story per page, others have multiple pages for each story. Consider how much you usually read to him and how he enjoys it as you select a good read-to-me story Bible. Make Bible time special time.
We pray after the story in very simple terms, "Good morning Abba-God. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for my family and my friends. Please bless us all. Help us to have a good day, and to do the things that make you happy. Amen." We also make sure prayer never is acted-out like a pretend game (dolls & bunnies are not allowed to pray) because God is real and those other things are only pretend.
Understanding God is pretty hard as a toddler, but they do begin to get it... It's also about developing the habits of faith, and making God-talk seem normal, for once they are understanding better.
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RE: Teaching Your Child About God - 5/5/2008 7:58:26 PM
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VisitorinWaiting
Posts: 755
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Oh, oh, oh...he's definitely NOT too young. My children are 4, 3, and 2...and they have been taught basically since birth. Like others have said, just singing to them is a good way to teach them. Then you can explain the song in terms they will understand. Tell him that you pray to God because He made you and He loves you...that he can talk to God too, anytime he wants to, by praying. He might or might not understand everything that you are saying...but let's say that he doesn't...have you lost anything? No. Let's say that he does...look at how much you have gained. A toddler Bible would be good too. My 3 year old used to walk around the house with his toddler Bible, turn to a story that he had memorized, and start preaching like he'd heard in church...so, your son is definitely not too young!!!
_____________________________
Hebrews 11:13,16 "...They said they were like visitors and strangers on earth...they were waiting for a better country, a heavenly country." (NCV)
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RE: Teaching Your Child About God - 5/5/2008 11:01:36 PM
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zmanfan38
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Joined: 9/14/2006
From: ...for it's root, root, root for the CUBBIES!!!
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My DD just turned 3 and she's always been eager to know more and more about our faith.
We always pray before meals and I have a board book that has a few, simply told Bible stories in it. She also has a board book of prayers. We watch lots of VeggieTales. They are adorable and have wonderful life and spiritual lessons attached to their stories.
I guess she knows the Christmas story better than other stages of Jesus' life. She says things like "Baby Jesus doesn't want you to be sad" if I'm upset. It's so sweet.
She also has wonderful classes for Sunday School and during the worship service. Her class on Wednesday night is wonderful as well. The children's programs at our church are so incredible. They have a lot of fun, but they are really taught on their level at the same time.
I think as much as she doesn't understand yet, there's so much that she does understand and she's hungry to know more.
_____________________________
GB = Gorgeous Baby
Godly council wanted here <--link
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RE: Teaching Your Child About God - 5/7/2008 2:11:06 PM
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my2kidzz
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Me and my wife started right way. My kids are 3 yrs and 1yrs old. I have found Boz the bear helps a lot. You can buy Boz DVD's at most Christian book stores. I also pray with them at night. One time I was in a hurry to put my dauhgter to bed and did not pray, she said "Pray, Pray" So I went back and prayed with her. I know they will learn about God by watching me and my wife. My wife reads the kids bible stories, they might not understand them yet but thats ok. God bless.
_____________________________
Clear skies
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RE: Teaching Your Child About God - 5/7/2008 6:37:12 PM
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CatholicCritter
Posts: 140
Joined: 6/17/2005
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Do it early and do it often...
While they're young, they will learn more from your actions than what you actively teach them about God. Pray before meals, pray after meals, read Bible stories, let them see your faith in action. Then as they grow older, those lessons will be ingrained and you can start feeding them more solid teaching.
_____________________________
http://saintunderconstruction.blogspot.com/
"There are not 100 people who hate the Catholic Church, yet there are millions who hate what they believe the Catholic Church to be." --Archbishop Fulton Sheen
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RE: Teaching Your Child About God - 5/7/2008 11:14:55 PM
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Ephesians4_32
Posts: 2298
Joined: 4/30/2005
From: The Crossroads of America
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It's never too soon! You never know when it will be too late.
Isaiah 54
13And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
Ecclesiastes 12
1Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
_____________________________
“To suppose that whatever God requireth of us that we have power of ourselves to do, is to make the cross and grace of Jesus Christ of none effect.” - John Owen
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RE: Teaching Your Child About God - 5/8/2008 8:24:54 AM
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sen10tious
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The best, most natural training about prayer occurs when you son sees you and his dad praying. At some point he will probably try to imitate you to see what it is all about. If you catch that happening, it is a ‘golden moment’ for teaching.
The songs, the Bible stories, and his observations of you will all feed his spirit just as surely as the oatmeal you give him feeds his body and the ABC’s you work on feed his mind. The spirit is the real essence of a person, and it is ageless; so don’t worry about his being too young to understand. Through the revelation of the Holy Spirit, he will know things even if he can’t express them back to you. As he grows, these will become things “he always just knew,” and many things of the Lord will seem intuitive to him.
Another thing you can be doing now is this: Help him see God throughout everyday life. If you see a sunset, while you are teaching the colors, include that they show the Glory of God. When he receives a gift, tell him it shows how God provides. Teach character traits this way; connect compassion and kindness to being like God. If you can provide him with a God-awareness, then the Holy Spirit will reveal a lot of the "explanations" straight to his spirit. Someday your little kid will say something really profound and at first you may wonder, 'How did he come up with that?' and then you will recall that you were his first watchman and rejoice that God is speaking with him.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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RE: Teaching Your Child About God - 5/8/2008 2:11:56 PM
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ladyingrace1979
Posts: 164
Joined: 3/14/2008
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Think of it like building a house. You have to lay the foundation first. Right now your little darling doesn't understand the cocepts so much but he is seeing the behavior modled, he is learning that God is important. Keep it up!
Kim Q
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RE: Teaching Your Child About God - 5/8/2008 2:27:14 PM
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buckifn
Posts: 1959
Joined: 5/23/2006
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We started before our babies were in the world...they had not yet came out of the womb when we prayed with them and read the Bible. We still do and with our grandchildren
One thing I always loved to do was connect God with the natural things...taking walks with my kids..pointing out natural things they saw, and often collected...bugs, rocks, leaves, all that, and connecting it to God...esp. as God loving us enough to give us that beautiful gift to enjoy.
we made journals together about it, scrapbooks, all sorts of things that kept them interested in a. spending time with me and b. learning about God.
Instead of tv or movie night I would recommend adventure night...the dad takes them on a surprise adventure...once ours was a laser light show and catching crawdads by kerosene lamplight...they still talk about that...my bible lesson was the importance of light shining in darkness....without the kerosene lamp how would we even have known where our jars were to put the crawdads in?
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RE: Teaching Your Child About God - 5/8/2008 4:05:32 PM
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Brooke313
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Joined: 10/24/2006
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They are never too young. Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it. There is a series called Leading Little Ones to God that I used with mine at that age. There are about four books in the series and it is simple and straightforward and easy for their little minds and hearts to digest.
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RE: Teaching Your Child About God - 5/12/2008 10:25:37 AM
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Row1
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one thought i have is i am not too excited about the educational material for kids at 2 -3 -4 years old, that emphasize Jesus being nice and helping his friends, helping strangers, and healing sick people.
Jesus didn't spent time on earth to teach us to be nice to each other (although that is the central message of some new age etc. movements), to help his friends (although that is the central message of secular humanism etc.), or to heal sick people (although that is the message of some false prophet faith healers, etc.).
so, everyone's comments really help me here, since I have a 2yo and want to know what to do, but i have not felt good abt these cartoony coloring book materials for 2-3-4 year olds.
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