One of my biggest concerns when I became a mom was how I was going to help my child understand God. It’s challenging to teach a toddler about something they can’t physically see or touch. Going to church didn’t feel like enough, and, at the time, we didn’t really have a routine that openly praised our Lord and Savior in our home. I prayed for answers on how to include Him into my child’s daily routine so she could start to form an understanding, and I found these habits to be the most effective for our family.
Be an Example
One of the best ways to lead your child to God is to be an example. Show your child what a Christian is by living it. Let your child hear you talking and praying to God and let them see you reading your Bible.
The way you walk, talk, and act has a huge impact on those developing minds and hearts. Little eyes and ears hear and see everything we do, whether we want them to or not. Children are like sponges and they absorb what’s in their environment.
Words of Affirmation
Every morning when we get ready, I have my daughter look in the mirror and tell her God loves her, mommy and daddy love her, she’s beautiful, kind, smart, and funny. We tell her she’s perfect and God made her exactly who she’s supposed to be. And then we have her repeat it all.
Bible Stories
Bible Stories is a great introduction to Jesus’s life for the kiddos. It has stories and prayers to help your child understand the Bible. We try to read a chapter a day, but sometimes Willow gets distracted by other toys and ventures off. I ask her questions and include her in the stories to try to hold her attention—but you know toddlers!
Christian Shows
Screentime gets so much hate, but it can be beneficial when used appropriately. Of course, I don’t want my child glued to a screen all day or to become addicted to the content that’s on it, but I’ve found benefits to educational Christian shows. We don’t just put her in front of the screen and leave her be. We interact with her while watching it. We ask her questions, sing the songs, and do the dances and activities with her.
Three of our favorite shows are:
Jingle Jacui: Youtube
Holy Sprouts: Youtube
VeggieTales: PureFlix
Prayer
Nothing compares to the power of prayer. Pray for your child, pray with them, pray over them. Teach them how to pray, even if it’s something as simple as “Dear God, thank you for this food. Amen!” This helps to teach your child about a higher power, to be grateful for what they have, and that things are not always in our control.
I’m sure there are so many other ways to introduce God into your child’s routine to help them form an understanding of His power, but these are the things I found to work for us. We aren’t perfect, and as hard as I try to make all of these daily habits, it doesn’t always happen. There are things I constantly strive for and pray over so our children can learn to know God and grow in faith.