It has been over a year since the pandemic hit us all and turned our lives haywire. While everyone’s regular routines have been affected in one way or another, it is children who have had to bear the brunt of it all. With lockdowns still ongoing in many parts of the world, kids have been disconnected from most of the things that they looked forward to. All Christian children look forward to enjoying Sunday mass and participating in church activities; it can be fun and enriching as they learn our traditions while bonding with God. However, with the Coronavirus outbreak, many places have no access to mass services and regular catechism.
There’s not much one can do except for waiting, but as parents, we can indeed contribute to our children’s religious journey as parents. Here are a few things you can do to support their understanding better while helping them find joy during a pandemic.
- Gift them a children’s Bible: Being gifted a Bible is a big deal and subject of excitement for all kids. Do you remember how exciting it was for you when you were gifted your first copy? The best part of children’s Bibles today is that they are beautifully written and depicted in colorful pictures. Buy your child one of their own and watch them get thrilled to read from it. You can also ask them to read you a paragraph from time to time, inculcating the habit of reading the scriptures regularly.
- Make their studies more organized: As a parent, you might find it hard to keep track of what’s being taught and what’s missing especially during the pandemic. Try to include new methods of teaching in order to keep both your child and yourself organized as well as engaged. One way to do so is to practice interactive learning with songs and different games which can be found on the internet. Another way is doing it with special curriculums, such as children’s church curriculum, which might come in handy when it comes to organizing religious studies. In addition, you can easily adapt it to your child’s learning pace.
- Make storytime interesting: Bedtime stories are one of the highlights of a child’s day as they look forward to what fun bedtime adventures they’d be embarking on every night. You can switch up this routine a bit by introducing a book of fun Bible stories and narrate them to your child. There are interactive storybooks that can be colored in or be played with; the goal here is for them to know the important parables and events in the Bible without it seeming like a classroom session.
- Subscribe to gospel aid online: Let’s not forget that to teach your child the scriptures, you need to be well versed with them as well. Subscribe to online sources like LDS Gospel Doctrine Classes that have a plethora of resources for you to use. If you’re ready to take a deep dive into the teachings of the Gospels, this is the best place to be since it has everything you’ll need to build a better understanding. Children need a religion, but we as adults need it more, especially while parenting.
- Lean on the community for online religious support: Since there are social restrictions at many places, you may not have access to in-person catechism sessions for your children, especially the ones nearing the sacraments of Holy Communion. You can ask your local children’s Bible studies teacher to host zoom calls or recommend uploading videos online so that your children do not miss out on their milestones. You may opt for hisglory.me live sessions to let your kids know more about the grace and glory of the mighty Jesus.
- Watch catechism videos online: Technology is a great tool when used responsibly. You can load your childrens’ tablets or devices with downloaded animated videos of parables and Bible stories. Since humans are visual creatures, children will be more enthusiastic about learning these moral-based stories where they wouldn’t even consider screen time study time! There are plenty of excellent resources online for animated Bible stories, which will help children absorb information better due to the beautiful graphics and the narration.
- Pray together to help them memorize: Make praying something your children look forward to. You can keep prayer time as a creative session by breaking stereotypical barriers. Make room for the song, interaction, and art, where your child looks forward to discovering the ways they connect with God the best. Many parents create a routine with a creative board, writing down the things they are grateful for, including affirmations of blessings and reciting prayers to strengthen their memory. These prayers can be little habits like saying the Grace before meals, prayer before bed and after waking up, praying before exams, and essential events amazon others.
- Talk to them about your relationship with God: As adults, we all know that each person has a unique relationship with God. While some express themselves very devoutly, others may be different in their approach to praying. Children notice how your praying differs from their catechism and would wonder why. It is a great idea to talk about how you reach out in prayer for aid and divine guidance when you need God the most. You can also talk about your relationship with Jesus when you were their age since most of us thought of him as our friend and an older sibling.
- Answer curious questions honestly: Religion makes room for a lot of curiosity when children are first initiated into learning about them. No matter what religion one follows, or even when they don’t, children will ask several questions out of curiosity. This is a good thing because you get to build a bond with your child while helping them understand the teachings of the Bible better. Sometimes the questions can be as innocent as the omnipresence of God, and the other times not so. Children are incredibly thoughtful and turn to their caretakers to understand; answering them gently with empathy at the forefront will help them build their trust in you while also building their faith in God.
- Encourage them to Bible journal: Bible journaling is a beautiful habit that can help your kids share their lives with the divine. Get them into the habit of creating a scrapbook with their favorite Bible quotes, parables, and memories attached to them; they can also write about their experiences, thus creating a healthy outlet for them to channel emotions into.
Wrapping Up:
While we addressed several ways to introduce religion to young children or helping your older kids understand the Bible better, you can use one or more of these to help you. As a parent, it is our duty to teach our children about good Christian values, and how you decide to go about it is entirely up to you! We hope this blog helped give you a few ideas to start.
