What does Lent look like for your young kids?

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DisorientingSneeze

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What have you done in the past to help young children (before the age of reason) experience lent? Any family traditions or things you felt worked particularly well?
 
To them, it looks like fish. But even worse for them, it smells like fish. It made for lasting memories for me as a child. I’m sure my children will also remember.
 
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We put up stations of the cross in the hallway and do a super shortened version of them on Fridays. When more of them learn to read it might improve, but by then we might be able to go do them at church with everyone else.
 
Last year, we did a resurrection garden, which was kind of neat. You can see examples of them online, but basically, you put a small flower pot on its side inside a large bowel or plate. Then you cover it with soil so it looks like a cave and make crosses to put on top. As Easter approaches, you can add and plant things. On Good Friday you put a large stone over the opening and on Easter you flip it over and it says He is Risen. It’s just a good visual way to tell the Easter story to young kids.
 
We run the gamut with ages. My 13 year old follows and understands lent. So do my 11 and 9 year old. My 6 year old doesnt understand but gives something up. So does my 4 year old. My 1 year old gets a pass for all of it! But they all see us do things as a family. Turn off the TV. Pray more. Go to adoration. My kids are very food oriented. Lots of cooking shows. So the kids tonight helped prepare cioppino.
 
I did not grow up Catholic, but, a friend of mine tells how her mother would fix liver for supper on Mondays in Lent. She would mince hers into microscopic like bits, mix in with mashed potatoes and swallow it whole to avoid tasting the liver 🙂
 
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