Children & prayer

[travellinmike]

I’ve started practicing again this lent after about 20 years away. My wife and I take the kids (5 & 2) to mass with us. they seem to like it once we get there.

I read in another thread about kids having knowledge of the faith appropriate for their age. What should a 5 yr old know? Up until a few months ago. he didn’t know anything about the sign of the cross, the Our Father (well he does hear it at “the coffee house” meetings) or anything else Catholic.

He went to a protestant day care and uses the old “God is great, God is good, Let us thank Him for our food” grace before meals. My wife and I are use to the ‘correct’ (?) grace. “Bless us our Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, through Thy bounty, through Crist our Lord, Amen” He balks at this and often says his own prayer after we get done.

He does the wrong shoulder order when blessing himself. He has never said a Hail Mary in his life.

What should a 5 yr old know about how to act in church, I’m assuming they should know to genuflect, use the holy water, etc.

What prayers typically does a 5 yr old have memorized? Our Father, Hail Mary, Grace before meals. Any others?

I want to get him up to speed so to speak before he goes th 1st grade next year and it’s obvious the nuns that he comes from a heathen background.

Mike

 

[Ann_Cheryl]

Welcome home. It sounds that you have a good start.

When my children were about three, I started with who made you? Why did God Make you? The children would say the rosary with us each night. We started them at two because my daughter wanted to stay up and the only way she could is if she prayed with us. My husband and I prayed the rosary from the day we got married. At about five years old, they had their own decade to lead. They were not perfect and believe it or not the hardest was the Glory be. They knew the ending of the Apostles Creed as they never really said the begining until they were teenagers. My daugher says that she never really learned the Hail Holy Queen because her brother and father whipped through it to fast.
We also said the Angelus. Not daily, but when it was not possible to say the rosary.

The best way to teach faith is to live it. They will see how you fail believe me the children are the quickest to point it out. They see our stuggle. I think it helps in their own struggles to see how we have to keep trying. They saw us fall many times

We also read good stories to them. The Outlaws of Ravenhurst was a favorite.

I have a library of stories on saints. I wanted my son to read them as a summer project. Mom he said do I have to read all of them?
Yes I said. Well mom I have read all but one book and I just don’t like it. O.k. I said you tried. That’s when I learned that having them available was emough.

 

[Jennifer123]

Hello-
Am a mother of a 2 yr old and a 6 mo old. I’m sure you’ll get lots of advice from more experienced parents, but hopefully I can help a little.
My 2 yr old will bless us (and his dolls and brother) with holy water, he knows to fold his hands in prayer when we pray, knows to pray the Catholic blessing before we eat, and we do the old Catholic custom of praying a Hail Mary when we hear sirens to bless the police, etc.
Basically we just try to incorporate the kids into the things we think we should be doing anyway with prayer, mass attendance, etc. We haven’t yet started a family rosary, but they have their own kiddie rosaries in their rooms along with normal rosaries all over the house so hopefully it will be familiar when we start doing that.
Just have patience and keep incorporating the Catholic customs into your home. Fill your home with Catholic items and sacramentals. Keep teaching the customs by living them yourself.

Here’s some info that might help too:
catholicmom.com/parenting.htm
dads.org/
totallycatholic.com/book.htm

Good luck and God Bless you for coming back to the Church!!