Help
With Your Rule
A Child's Prayer Practices
Dear Holly,
Thanks so much for writing this book! The "person" chapter on dealing with depression was very helpful - sometimes for a Christian, it's tempting to think that praying more is the answer to all spiritual/emotional darkness.
You mention having a prayer page for each child. How old should they be first? I have a 6, 4, and 9 month old, and I'm not sure even the 6-year-old is ready for her own prayer practices beyond our family morning and evening prayer.
Labels: 4th P Parent
posted by Holly at 2:46 PM
2 Comments:
Thanks you for your comment re depression - so many times in my life I have looked for 'one' single 'answer' to a problem, only to get discouraged when something didn't 'work'. It was only after a good long while that I realized there are often combinations of things which need to be changed or altered to bring about personal solutions. And really, a Mother's Rule is all about getting our combinations right! :-)
As for children's prayer - I don't have a separate page for each child individually, at least not now. First off, I am concerned with family prayer - that the family at least shares morning and evening prayer of some sort (and this can be adapted to the various ages of the family - a young little family would have far more of an 'atmosphere' to prayer, like a lit candle, beautiful pictures, a darkened room, than an older family would actually need). The younger the family,the shorter the prayer practices.
And then adding little prayer practices throughout the day - like grace before meals; like making the sign of the cross when driving past a Catholic church; like saying a Hail Mary whenever you hear a siren from an ambulance or firetruck; like a blessing from Dad before he leaves for work, or before bedtime. All these little types of prayer are applicable to family life in general, despite age levels.
As the children get older, say around three, I usually have religious books by their bed, or religious pictures hung in their room, statues & crucifixes, and I encourage them to talk to Jesus and Mary before they go to sleep. And I tell them about their angel. I have memories of talking to my angel as far back as age three, so there is a consciousness there.
At around 6 years old or so, I encourage religious reading at bedtime or quiet time. At age 9 or so, I encourage daily scripture reading or prayer book reading or saint reading every day at bedtime or quiet time. I give all the children a rosary for their bedposts, and encourage them to say a decade or rosary on nights when they can't sleep.
By teenage years, when the hormones hit and emotions run deep, I begin to discuss with them other ways to personally pray - how to truly meditate upon scripture. I get them teen-age level books to read on the faith. I encourage them to come to adoration with me. I share how to talk to God in the run of daily life and how easy this is.
All of this extra prayer - personal child prayer - I leave to them. I encourage only. I do not consider this something I 'make' them do, regardless of age. But the family prayer, morning and evening, I ensure as part of my responsibility.
Readers? Any other words of wisdom?
Great ideas! We use several of the prayer practices you suggest. Another one we've incorporated is to say the prayer for the dead whenever we pass a cemetery ("Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord ..."). Now even my 4 y.o. son will call out "Cemetery!" to remind the rest of us.
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