Comments on: Teaching a Child to Pray http://roxcy.synthian.org/2006/08/03/teaching-a-child-to-pray/ Uplifting, edifying, and enriching reading by and for Latter-day Saint Women Tue, 06 Jan 2009 08:44:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.4 by: Stephen M (Ethesis) http://roxcy.synthian.org/2006/08/03/teaching-a-child-to-pray/#comment-1763 Sun, 06 Aug 2006 16:28:55 +0000 http://roxcy.synthian.org/2006/08/03/teaching-a-child-to-pray/#comment-1763 <i>A very common way to teach anyone any new skill is to show him first, then let him do it with your help. Then when he is ready, he can move on to doing it on his own.</i> I've always wondered why people thought prayer should be any different. Nicely written essay. A very common way to teach anyone any new skill is to show him first, then let him do it with your help. Then when he is ready, he can move on to doing it on his own.

I’ve always wondered why people thought prayer should be any different. Nicely written essay.

]]> by: MarissaS http://roxcy.synthian.org/2006/08/03/teaching-a-child-to-pray/#comment-1758 Sun, 06 Aug 2006 05:36:04 +0000 http://roxcy.synthian.org/2006/08/03/teaching-a-child-to-pray/#comment-1758 "I knelt beside his or her crib. As soon as he or she could kneel, they knelt in their crib and I held their hands together between mine through the slats. They may not have understood exactly what we were doing, but I think the Spirit was present many times. Surely they often felt the same love and peace that I felt while praying with them." Perhaps they didn't understand, but I understood it, and I felt the Spirit. Can any bad really come from such an honest endeavor? A parent kneeling cribside to pray with their child........touching and beautiful, thank you. “I knelt beside his or her crib. As soon as he or she could kneel, they knelt in their crib and I held their hands together between mine through the slats.
They may not have understood exactly what we were doing, but I think the Spirit was present many times. Surely they often felt the same love and peace that I felt while praying with them.”

Perhaps they didn’t understand, but I understood it, and I felt the Spirit. Can any bad really come from such an honest endeavor? A parent kneeling cribside to pray with their child……..touching and beautiful, thank you.

]]> by: RoAnn http://roxcy.synthian.org/2006/08/03/teaching-a-child-to-pray/#comment-1744 Fri, 04 Aug 2006 21:26:33 +0000 http://roxcy.synthian.org/2006/08/03/teaching-a-child-to-pray/#comment-1744 After raising six children, I am definitely convinced that the words from the hymn "Prayer is the Soul's Sincere Desire" are true. With each of my children, it was true that "prayer is the simplest form of speech that infant lips can try." Some of the first words they uttered were the final words (or syllables) of the phrases they repeated after me in their individual prayers which I helped them say. I started when each was a baby, and I knelt beside his or her crib. As soon as he or she could kneel, they knelt in their crib and I held their hands together between mine through the slats. They may not have understood exactly what we were doing, but I think the Spirit was present many times. Surely they often felt the same love and peace that I felt while praying with them. I agree with JKS that each child is different, and you may need to tailor your teaching to each child. I also agree with Ana that "it’s never bad to establish good habits while children are young." After raising six children, I am definitely convinced that the words from the hymn “Prayer is the Soul’s Sincere Desire” are true. With each of my children, it was true that “prayer is the simplest form of speech that infant lips can try.” Some of the first words they uttered were the final words (or syllables) of the phrases they repeated after me in their individual prayers which I helped them say. I started when each was a baby, and I knelt beside his or her crib. As soon as he or she could kneel, they knelt in their crib and I held their hands together between mine through the slats.

They may not have understood exactly what we were doing, but I think the Spirit was present many times. Surely they often felt the same love and peace that I felt while praying with them.

I agree with JKS that each child is different, and you may need to tailor your teaching to each child. I also agree with Ana that “it’s never bad to establish good habits while children are young.”

]]> by: JKS http://roxcy.synthian.org/2006/08/03/teaching-a-child-to-pray/#comment-1739 Fri, 04 Aug 2006 02:54:35 +0000 http://roxcy.synthian.org/2006/08/03/teaching-a-child-to-pray/#comment-1739 Eric & Ana - You're actually making me feel better about being lazy about prayers since with only dinner blessing (if I don't feed the kids early) and evening family prayer, my kids aren't overloaded with prayers. I would however, like it better if there were so many prayers that my children were bored with praying! Tanya - aren't two year olds cute when they fold their arms? Eric & Ana - You’re actually making me feel better about being lazy about prayers since with only dinner blessing (if I don’t feed the kids early) and evening family prayer, my kids aren’t overloaded with prayers. I would however, like it better if there were so many prayers that my children were bored with praying!

Tanya - aren’t two year olds cute when they fold their arms?

]]> by: JKS http://roxcy.synthian.org/2006/08/03/teaching-a-child-to-pray/#comment-1738 Fri, 04 Aug 2006 02:49:32 +0000 http://roxcy.synthian.org/2006/08/03/teaching-a-child-to-pray/#comment-1738 JR, are you sure your child doesn't know who God is? My children seem to understand these things pretty early: 1. Heavenly Father loves me 2. Heavenly Father sent me to earth and to my parents 3. Heavenly Father is who we pray to to thank him and ask for things. What "other" things does a 2 or 3 year old need to know about God before understanding who he is? JR, are you sure your child doesn’t know who God is? My children seem to understand these things pretty early:
1. Heavenly Father loves me
2. Heavenly Father sent me to earth and to my parents
3. Heavenly Father is who we pray to to thank him and ask for things.
What “other” things does a 2 or 3 year old need to know about God before understanding who he is?

]]> by: Ana http://roxcy.synthian.org/2006/08/03/teaching-a-child-to-pray/#comment-1737 Fri, 04 Aug 2006 02:05:30 +0000 http://roxcy.synthian.org/2006/08/03/teaching-a-child-to-pray/#comment-1737 JR, I think there's nothing wrong with establishing a practice before it's fully understood. Understanding can come later. It won't automatically come -- the parents have to keep at it. But I think it's never bad to establish good habits while children are young. I wouldn't refrain from teaching my kids to brush their teeth just because they only had baby teeth or just because they didn't really understand about bacteria. JR, I think there’s nothing wrong with establishing a practice before it’s fully understood. Understanding can come later. It won’t automatically come — the parents have to keep at it. But I think it’s never bad to establish good habits while children are young. I wouldn’t refrain from teaching my kids to brush their teeth just because they only had baby teeth or just because they didn’t really understand about bacteria.

]]> by: Ana http://roxcy.synthian.org/2006/08/03/teaching-a-child-to-pray/#comment-1736 Fri, 04 Aug 2006 02:03:00 +0000 http://roxcy.synthian.org/2006/08/03/teaching-a-child-to-pray/#comment-1736 Eric, when my kids start to rattle off prayers in a blase fashion, they usually just need a reminder to talk about what they really care about, a reminder that Heavenly Father really wants to hear what they have to say. And then a couple of weeks later, they need that reminder again. They are 7 and 5, by the way. But sometimes I think I ought to have someone around to remind their 32 year old mother about those ideas. Eric, when my kids start to rattle off prayers in a blase fashion, they usually just need a reminder to talk about what they really care about, a reminder that Heavenly Father really wants to hear what they have to say. And then a couple of weeks later, they need that reminder again. They are 7 and 5, by the way. But sometimes I think I ought to have someone around to remind their 32 year old mother about those ideas.

]]> by: JR from Dallas http://roxcy.synthian.org/2006/08/03/teaching-a-child-to-pray/#comment-1735 Thu, 03 Aug 2006 20:21:43 +0000 http://roxcy.synthian.org/2006/08/03/teaching-a-child-to-pray/#comment-1735 If the child doesn't know who God is yet, and doesn't know who he's talking to, then is he really praying? Couldn't it simply be teaching prayer as a ritual to be performed, empty of meaning? Might it not make more sense to wait until the child understands what is going on (at least at a basic level) so that prayer will hold more significance, rather than it being simply a formality, part of a routine to be acted out? If the child doesn’t know who God is yet, and doesn’t know who he’s talking to, then is he really praying? Couldn’t it simply be teaching prayer as a ritual to be performed, empty of meaning? Might it not make more sense to wait until the child understands what is going on (at least at a basic level) so that prayer will hold more significance, rather than it being simply a formality, part of a routine to be acted out?

]]> by: Kim Siever http://roxcy.synthian.org/2006/08/03/teaching-a-child-to-pray/#comment-1734 Thu, 03 Aug 2006 18:41:25 +0000 http://roxcy.synthian.org/2006/08/03/teaching-a-child-to-pray/#comment-1734 Eric, Does he happen to be five? Eric,

Does he happen to be five?

]]> by: Eric Nielson http://roxcy.synthian.org/2006/08/03/teaching-a-child-to-pray/#comment-1733 Thu, 03 Aug 2006 16:23:19 +0000 http://roxcy.synthian.org/2006/08/03/teaching-a-child-to-pray/#comment-1733 I am wondering sometimes if my family prays to much. Our kids are kinda getting 'yada, yada, yada' with their prayers. Pray in the morning, pray over every meal, pray at night asa family, pray at night individualy. Can it get to much that it looses it's significance? My number 2 child right now only wants to get the prayer over as quickly as possible. He seems to obviously view it as a formality. I am wondering sometimes if my family prays to much. Our kids are kinda getting ‘yada, yada, yada’ with their prayers. Pray in the morning, pray over every meal, pray at night asa family, pray at night individualy. Can it get to much that it looses it’s significance?

My number 2 child right now only wants to get the prayer over as quickly as possible. He seems to obviously view it as a formality.

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