Toddler prayer

[mass4life]

We currently sit together and go round saying “Thank you, God’s.” Thank you for our trip to the park, thank you for ice cream, thank you for Daddy, etc. I am slowly working in I’m sorry’s. (I’m sorry for yelling today.) We end with an Our Father and Hail Mary.

mass4life

 

[Bonvivant]

Here’s a good one - maybe for kids a little older.

Angel sent by God to guide me,
Be my light and walk beside me.
Be my guardian and protect me,
And on the paths of light protect me.

Bill

 

[Bonvivant]

Here’s a good one - maybe for kids a little older.

Angel sent by God to guide me,
Be my light and walk beside me.
Be my guardian and protect me,
And on the paths of light direct me.

Bill

 

[mimi4]

Every night we say an

Our Father
Hail Mary
Glory Be
Guardian angel prayer
St. Michael’s Prayer (they also say this if they had a bad dream during the night)
Act of Contrition
By age 4 they have all been able to recite them beautifully.

 

[Brain]

My brothers’ nighttime prayers (3 and 5 but we have been doing it since the older was speaking)

Our Father
Hail Mary
Guardian Angel Prayer
Glory Be
Bless (name) and (name) and (name)…

 

[shannon_e]

st_felicity:

…but then I got creative and wrote my own for the next three using the same meter.

My favorite one is this:

Lord of all, to you I pray,
To offer thanks this blessed day.
I ask you, Lord, to make me whole,
Heal my wounds, heart, mind, and soul.
Lead me, Lord, to love like you,
And keep your ways in all I do.
And wake me with tomorrow’s morn,
Refreshed, renewed, in You, reborn.
God bless…

I even use that one sometimes!

Wow, I really like that…

 

[kellyb32]

StratusRose:

I used to say this one when I was little…

Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep and if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen.

Me too, but don’t you know now that they made this particular prayer “politically correct” (IMO)?

It now says this (my kids have 2 different toys that say the prayer when you press the hands or belly):

Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
The angels watch me through the night
Until I wake at mornings light.

Me personally? I have an 11, 3 and 1 year old. We all pray together at night, or I’ll pray individually with them.

We pray the Our Father, one Hail Mary, one Glory Be, and an Act of Contrition. My 3 year old learned all the prayers within 2 weeks time, including the long Act of Contrition that my 11 year old taught us. It’s different from the one I learned as a child

Oh my God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.
In chosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against you whom I shall love above all things.
I firmly intend with your help to do penance and sin no more and avoid whatever leads me to sin.
Our Savior, Jesus Christ, suffered and died for us.
In His name, my God, have mercy.
Amen.

Then I pray for their safety, their needs, I ask them to pray for someone (or something) and remind my 3 year old that Jesus hears her prayers, no matter how small they may be. She’ll pray for grandma and grandpa, a favorite toy, etc. Just to get her to understand that even though we don’t see Jesus He hears us and is with us.

So that’s what I do every night. They wait for me to pray with them. It makes me feel good that they learned the words, now when they get older (like my 11 year old is finding out), there’s lots of meaning behind the words. The understanding of what they are praying will come with time, and more prayer .

 

[bluerose]

When our son was about three, my husband taught him this prayer that he used to say when he was a little boy:

Good morning/night, sweet Jesus, our Savior,
Good morning/night, sweet Mary, our Mother,
We give you today/tonight our hearts, our souls, and our lives,
Keep us from sin today/tonight and forever.

Even after our son learned the traditional Catholic prayers (the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, Guardian Angel, Act of Contrition), he’d always say, “Wait, now I have to say good morning (or good night) to Jesus and Mary!”

BlueRose