How to teach infants about Jesus?

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Nelka

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My children are nearly four, I have tried telling them about God but they seem a bit, well not confused but maybe too young to understand.

The thing is at our church there is a very large Crucifix at the back where we sit with the children and one of them told the other when speaking loudly to be quiet because He (pointing at the Crucifix) was nearly asleep.

How do I tell them that Jesus died for us, they don’t understand death as it is.

Where do I go from here?

Thanks.
 
Do you have books for them? We have a few children’s Bibles that are meant for very young children and they are excellent. Maite Roche is a really good and I love her illustrations - she has a Bible for little ones, Gospel for little ones and several other simple prayer books that our kids love to look at. We have a couple versions of the Easter story, too - On Easter Day in the Morning is our favorite.

Even if they don’t completely understand, you can teach some of the starter prayers and responses at Mass if your children don’t already know them. My oldest is almost four and while he doesn’t exactly know what death is, he knows that it is sad, that when people die it means they do not come back (he picked that up from other stories - lots of children’s stories have death in them), and that part of what makes Jesus so special is that he came back from the dead (I don’t think he understands Jesus being God, but hey, one thing at a time!)

I find that just telling them the Bible stories, saying prayers with them, and taking them to Mass does a lot for their understanding. They will mix things up because they’re children, but they’ll pick it up, too. Probably the most important thing for them to know right now is that Jesus is their friend who loves them, and that we go to church to see Him, and pray to talk to Him.
 
Perhaps concentrate on the love of Christ, and when they can better understand the concepts of death, then raise the issue of his death, and how the two go hand-in-hand.

There are still bound to be questions, Christ on the crucifix usually is enough to prompt that, but the answers my children were looking for was not the detail of the passion, but usually a fairly simple answer along the lines of “that’s how we remember him for all the love he gave us”.

Peace!
 
I believe the best way to teach children about Jesus is by going to church (during mass talk to them about what they see…yes I did say TALK, speak quietly but encourage questions and point out what is going on. We sit in the back and we hold them up and point to the alter. We also take them to Good Friday Service so they see the reenactment of Jesus being nailed to the cross.)

We also sing songs about Jesus in the car and at home. We tell them that we have everything because of Jesus (we thank Him for the roof over heads, clothes on our back and the food in our tummies)

I sometimes kid around with my daughter (who is 4) and tell her to slow down and don’t grow as fast…her response “that’s the way Jesus made us mommy”

EWTN have wonderful shows for children too!
 
I think it would be quite hard to teach an infant about Jesus, considering that they don’t understand basic words at such a young age. Preschoolers, on the other hand, can definitely be taught about Jesus. At that age, songs and arts and crafts are good. Setting an example by teaching them simple prayers would also be good. My parish has a children’s liturgy of the word. Where they are taught on their level and they come back during the offertory. Its for like 3 years olds to 1st graders.

I’m not sure even if you tried to explain about death, if they would get it right now.
 
KendraDZ1902 said:
I think it would be quite hard to teach an infant about Jesus, considering that they don’t understand basic words at such a young age. Preschoolers, on the other hand, can definitely be taught about Jesus. At that age, songs and arts and crafts are good. Setting an example by teaching them simple prayers would also be good. My parish has a children’s liturgy of the word. Where they are taught on their level and they come back during the offertory. Its for like 3 years olds to 1st graders.

I’m not sure even if you tried to explain about death, if they would get it right now.
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The way I explain death to my four year old is when someone dies they fall asleep and they go to live with Jesus up in heaven (pointing to the sky). When she asks when would they see everyone again I answer when someone goes to heaven they are together again with Jesus in heaven, she accepts that answer.
 
It has been my observation that they know more about God than we do.

The Crusifix: “Jesus has a big boo-boo” is how my girls translated it. They often cryed to comfort him. They had a harder time grasping the Resurection but we found the book, Easter Bunnies Amazing Day Benoist/Gilmore to help them grasp the Resurection. myeasterbunny.org/Images/823534_Sample_pages.pdf liguori.org/easter-bunny-s-amazing-day-new.html

Before I got married, I used to enjoy listening to the sound of babies and toddlers cry during Mass. It seemed as if they were crying out for humanity especially when I focused on when (Mass ritual) they started to cry at. Many times it’s during the transubstantiation. I used to think that it was because mass was too long for them. As a mother of two toddlers I find that each transubstantiation (long mass or short mass) will bring at least one child crying (for humanity). My girls used to sit in their car seat and during the high cry time they would get energized and then hold their hands out — in a protective way and in a grasping wAy.

TV programs that have captured their interest in God: “Divine Mercy Chapulet”" for kids, “Holy Baby”, “The Friar”, and “Holy Bears”. Now, I’ve watched “holy bears” (a one episode wonder) so many times that I could write a thesis paper on the show. :eek: guidinglightvideo.com/shop/HolyBears.html
 
Nelka said:
My children are nearly four, I have tried telling them about God but they seem a bit, well not confused but maybe too young to understand.

The thing is at our church there is a very large Crucifix at the back where we sit with the children and one of them told the other when speaking loudly to be quiet because He (pointing at the Crucifix) was nearly asleep.

How do I tell them that Jesus died for us, they don’t understand death as it is.

Where do I go from here?

Thanks.
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The best way to teach infants (children) about Jesus is to BE Jesus for them. Love them unconditionally. Other than that, you just have to decide what they are capable of understanding and give them what they can handle…in baby steps.
 
Going to Church and making Jesus a part of their lives is the best way to do it in my opinion.

There are many things they don’t fully understand but just accept in life. For example, grandparents. They know they have grandparents. They have a Pop pop or a Nana or whatever, but how weird is it for a child to comprehend their mommy and daddy having a mommy and daddy of their own?! That would mean that mommy and daddy were kids at one time. Thats impossible. Mommy and daddy are grown-ups and always have been.

I realized this when my son started to call my mother “mom” because I was.

We go to Church. Why? Because Jesus is there and we pray to Jesus. Pictures help. Statues help. I found that Christmas helped because my son knew that birthdays were special so we celebrated a birthday for Jesus!
 
I’ll never forget the time my DD realized the presence of the crucifix in Church. She pointed up and said “Momma, who’s THAT guy?”
I found that Christmas helped because my son knew that birthdays were special so we celebrated a birthday for Jesus!
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That was a big starting point for us. For Christmas, DD received a Fisher-Price “little people” nativity play set that never got packed away. So she’s always playing family with Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus. She understands that it’s “big Jesus” on the cross but she doesn’t really know why yet. But she knows that Jesus is very special (so special that we celebrate his birthday).

Conversely, Mary is always getting in on all the Disney Princess parties. 😛
 
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