I received the following question on my post, The Blessings of Family Worship, and thought it was such a great question that I should share my answer with all of you!
How to Have Family Worship with Little Ones
Q: This sounds so beautiful and what I hope for my family. But I am just not sure how to do family worship right now. My son is only 1 1/2 and only says 5 words. I’m not sure how to engage him in this. What tips do you have for doing family worship with really little kids?
A: Dear Laura, I’m so glad you have a desire to share in worship with your little one as a family. You know, babies and toddlers understand so much more than they are able to express and it’s never too early to begin teaching your little one about Jesus, the wonders of creation, and how much their Heavenly Father loves them.
First of all, don’t expect your son to want to sit still for a lengthy period of time – which you probably already realize. But, that doesn’t mean he can’t enjoy the time with you, however short. And, with consistency you’ll soon see your son looking forward to that time each night!
I would suggest that you say the same thing before worship. Something like, “It’s time for worship!” in a sing song voice with lots of enthusiasm.
Then you can sing a few songs. Once your child has a few favorite songs, you can even ask him which song he’d like to sing or which one he’d like to sing first. It doesn’t really matter if he can’t say all of the words – he’s learning!
Action songs {songs with hand motions or movement} are a lot fun for little ones and old familiar tunes from your childhood are also great. If you don’t know very many children’s songs, you can learn them – watch some YouTube videos! And it never hurts to begin introducing traditional hymns into your family worship time, too.
Here are a few of my favorites:
You might also enjoy this series of Scripture Lullabies called, Hidden in My Heart (A Lullaby Journey Through Scripture). These could be enjoyed before bed or even as your child is falling asleep. For years I played music or Bible Story CDs for my children at bedtime.
Next, you’ll want to use a devotional book that is appropriate for your child’s age. Here are a few books you might find enjoyable:
- Everyday a Blessing
- The Jesus Storybook Bible
- A Child’s First Bible
- The One Year Devotions for Preschoolers (Little Blessings)
- My Best Friend Jesus: 180 Devotions and Worship Activities for Preschoolers
Don’t forget that you can teach your son all about God in your everyday routines, too! I always loved talking with my little ones about heaven, creation, and Jesus. We would talk about all the different wonderful things we wanted to do when we got to heaven – like swim with the dolphins and ride elephants and play with a tiger! Or about how wonderful the food will taste in heaven. When you see a rainbow talk about Noah and the Ark and how God made a covenant with the rainbow never to flood the earth again.
Finally, end your family worship time with prayer. It’s fun to get on the floor, kneel down, and show your son how to fold his hands and close his eyes so that you can “talk to Jesus.”
Family worship is a really special way to end {or begin} the day. I hope these suggestions help you get started.
For more ideas you might like to read:
- How to Get Started with Family Worship
- Everyday Blessings
- Morning Worship
- How to Plan Family Worship for a Campout
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