Teaching your child to pray may seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be! Prayer brings us closer to God and can give children much needed contentment when they’re experiencing big emotions. How often have you felt worried or scared, but immediately felt more peaceful after saying a quick Hail Mary? Teaching kids how to pray is one of the most important things you can do to ensure they continue their love of Christ throughout their whole lives.
Tips That Will Help You Teach Your Child to Pray
In this post, I’m going to give you some of the best tips to teach your child to pray, as well as some additional resources to continue their learning!
How Do I Teach My Child About God?
Psst. I’ll let you in on a little secret. Do you want to know the very fist thing our children learn about religion/Catholicism/God? How to pray! Even a tiny newborn can lie in your lap as you pray with your bigger kids each night. Once our children hit 2-years-old they are expected to sit with the family each night before bed, fold their hands, and listen to us pray the Guardian Angel prayer together.
Why Is It Important to Teach Children to Pray?
Prayer brings children closer to Jesus. It’s a way for them to have a conversation with God. How do we get to know someone better? By having a conversation of course!
Explaining Prayer to a Child and Encouraging Children to Pray
When I converted to Catholicism, one of the hardest concepts for me to grasp was WHY we pray. If God already has a plan for us, and knows all of our thoughts anyways, why pray?
It’s true. God knows what you need before you even ask Him. We pray because prayer helps us to get to know Him. It opens up a conversation with Him. Just as a mother knows what’s going on with her child, she still wants to hear about it. She wants to know what’s going on in their mind, why they feel a certain way, and what they’re hoping will happen.
We pray to be a part of a relationship with Him. Prayer is about pouring your heart out to God and receiving all of His love back into it!
How Do I Teach My Toddler to Pray?
Ahh yes, those pesky toddlers. So stubborn aren’t they? The trick is to find some creative ways to pray. Make it fun! Prayer doesn’t have to be boring and somber. Although its good to be reverent, it’s more important to get them used to the normalcy of praying, even if it’s just for two minutes. (Those two minutes count!)
There are many ways to pray besides sitting still and folding your hands. You can have them color while listening to soft, Christian music. Sing a song about Jesus together while they’re in the bathtub. If your child is an early riser, watch the sunrise together outside and talk about God’s greatness! I create Catholic sensory kits that families have used during their prayer time. The kits help children learn about Christ in a quiet, tactile way. There are so many ways to engage toddlers in their own little prayer life!
10 Ways to Teach Your Child to Pray
Here are a 10 ideas to help teach your child pray!
1.) Have a Schedule-It’s no secret children thrive on schedules! They will behave their best if they know exactly what is expected of them and when it’s expected. Maybe you have a morning prayer time after breakfast as a family, or maybe you pray together for a few minutes before bed. Consistency is key here!
2.) Use Candles-Even as an adult, candles are mesmerizing and so calming. Add that to the fact that little kids usually aren’t allowed to play with, or be around, candles; so including them during prayer makes the time extra special. I use little tea lights and place them on the floor next to each child. It’s amazing how seriously they take the responsibility! If you really can’t trust them with a hot flame, small LED candles are just as fun.
3.) Keep it Short and Sweet-Teach them short prayers such as the Lord’s Prayer and Hail Mary. I would also encourage you to teach them the Prayer to Saint Michael as they get older. This is an important prayer that many churches say at the end of Mass. I have a whole blog post with simple prayers for children.
4.) Have Them Mimic You-This one really happens without much effort on your end. If your kids see YOU praying, it will become more normal to them. I don’t know about you, but our kids want to copy everything I do and be a part of everything I’m doing (this is good and bad haha.) When they see me praying, I find them imitating me later.
5.) Spur of the Moment-Prayer doesn’t have to be quiet. Keep things exciting with spur of the moment prayers! For instance, if your child is trying to find a lost toy, a quick prayer to St. Anthony should do the trick (see below!)
6.) Use Songs-Kids love music and find it much easier to remember prayers this way. Ask your child who their favorite saint is and research a song about them. There are plenty of little ditties and sayings for children to remember too, such as this one to St. Anthony to help find a lost toy.
“Tony Tony turn around. Something’s lost and must be found.”
7.) Use Movement– Prayer activities for children keep those busy bodies moving while instilling the faith. Before making a basketball shot, have your child call out something they’re grateful for. Play freeze tag, and each time someone is “unfrozen” they have to shout out something they’re thankful for. Dancing is also a great prayer activity for kids. Put on some upbeat, preschool, Christian music and have them dance their prayers out!
8.) Prayer Basket-Have your family write down or draw pictures of their prayer intentions each day (“I pray I can win my soccer tournament tomorrow,” or “I pray that I’m able to help someone smile,” etc. ) At the end of the day, maybe during dinner or before bed, pull out a few of these prayer intentions to read and pray for as a family.
9.) Finger Prayers-This one is super easy when you’re strapped for time and can be done anywhere. Have your child come up with 5 things they are thankful for. “Today I thank God for…” saying one prayer for each of their five fingers. (Keep scrolling for an inexpensive finger prayer puzzle!)
10.) Colorful Pictures-Print or purchase pictures of the saints, Jesus, Joseph and Mary to hang in their room. A really easy option is to collect prayer cards for them to keep in a special book or on their nightstand to look at.
Short Prayers for Children
Looking for some easy prayers for kids to get started? In my post, 9 Simple Prayers for Catholic Kids, I give you the words to nine foundational prayers such as the Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary (Salve Regina) and Prayer to Saint Michael. There’s also a free printable prayer activity you can snag at the bottom of the post!
More Prayer Resources
Still want more? Here are a few more resources to get your child’s prayer life off on the right foot!
I Pray With My Five Fingers Magnet Puzzle Set was created by Pope Francis and uses each finger to represent a type of prayer.
The Rosary for Little Ones book. “The Rosary for Little Ones introduces the mysteries of the rosary in a simple, yet engaging way. A beautiful and practical book for families with young children desiring to pray the rosary and add more roses to Jesus and Mary’s heavenly crowns.”
I Love to Pray book. “Traditional Catholic prayers with full spread inspirational illustrations that are sure to help children learn the prayers! This is an excellent Christian Book for Kids and is used in Catholic Schools and Parishes.”
I hope this was helpful. Teaching children about prayer and how to pray shows them how to have a conversation with Jesus and will set them up for a lifetime of faith-filled, fruitful lives.
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