This morning Simon was babbling and then at the end of it said Jesus loves ME! Rob asked if Jesus loved Mama and Daddy too and he said No, Jesus loves ME! So I guess we are doing something right.
I don’t talk about faith much in this space. I’m not sure why that is – partially because it’s hard to put words to something I hold so close, but I know there are others who believe differently. But I am a Christian. I grew up in the Baptist church and was baptized at 13. Now part of the Presbyterian church, we baptized Simon at two months.
I often wonder how to start teaching Simon about Jesus. At 23 months, there isn’t a lot we can do. But I want to start teaching him now, so that it becomes a part of his fiber, and when he is older and aware, I want God to be something that has always been there. If nothing I want him to know he is loved.
There are a few things we have started to incorporate into his bedtime routine.
We don’t always read a story, but our children’s bibles are in the bedtime rotation. At first I was afraid that they were too complex, but when I really looked at them I saw that the stories are only a page, so short enough for Simon’s tiny attention span. The cover of one of them has Noah’s Ark and Simon really likes the “giraffe Jesus book.”
Stories are followed by prayers. A workshop at our church recently gave me this template for praying with young children. He doesn’t like to say “I’m sorry”…
How to Pray:
Dear Jesus,
Thank you for _____
I’m sorry I _____
God bless _____
Amen.
Then I sing him a song. He likes Jesus Loves Me, and there are a few others he’s starting to learn.
That’s our routine. If anyone reading has more tips on incorporating teaching God to toddlers, I’d love to hear them.
PS – We don’t listen to a ton of music, but I do play Pandora some. I searched “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” and have a good station that plays a lot of the songs I remember from Sunday School and some new ones too.