Spiritual Training from Birth to 4 Years of Age

Can you start Spiritual Training of your Children when they are between newborn and 4 years of age?

I remember when our kids were small, we use to pray over them, so they could hear us, and that was not always easy as they could be fussy at bedtime!!  Or as they got a little older, we would kneel by the bed and pray with them, each taking turns as we modeled how to pray.  But the question is, what can they truly understand about God.  In the book Spiritual Growth of Children, published in 2000, the authors laid out a chart to show what truths about God they can be ready to learn between 0-4.  Here is an excerpt from the book:

1-      The “knowing” columns contain truths about their faith, God, and what he does.

2-      The “loving” column is about developing their relationship with God  

3-      The “living” columns are about living out in their person and actions what God wants them to be.

In each of these three areas, topics and concepts are listed that they can grasp. As you become intentional, your children will learn all things listed here. Remember they're like sponges and they're ready to learn.

A couple of key activities you can take to teach these principles include:

1 – Pray these truths in your nighttime prayers tying them to your activities: Dear God, thank you for loving us and taking care of us as we traveled today.

2- Find Christian books online written for their age group that address these issues, and read them before bedtime and talk about the truths.

3 – Start Family Nights to act out the biblical stories.  Read from a biblical story book written for their age, then have them dress up and act out the stories having them ad lib what they think the bible character would have done or said. Have fun and you may want to take pictures or video!!

4 – Deut. 6:4-7 says:  4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

As you go through your day, point out things to be thankful to God about, pray for things that happen!