‘Does God Ever Yawn?’ How to Spiritually Train Your Preschool-Age Child

Jeff Smith is editorial manager of Awana. He and his wife have two children. Jeff has written three curriculum books for Awana.

For many parents, the preschool years are our favorite stage of childhood. (For others, it’s when our hair began turning gray.)

As a father, I enjoyed this precocious phase so much that I now teach a class of 3-year-olds at my church.

The biggest challenge of this period is teaching them the building blocks of our faith in Christ. Having raised two kids through preschool and taught many others, God has shown me a few key principles.

1. Focus on “big truths.”

The motto of the Awana Puggles program for 2- and 3-year-olds is “Big truths for little hearts.” Puggles teaches four basic biblical concepts: God made everything. God saw that it was good. God is love. Give thanks.

Young children have little to no notion of anything spiritual. For example, when my daughter Nicki was 3, she asked me if God ever took afternoon naps.

“God never sleeps,” I answered. “He watches over you day and night.”

Nicki replied, “Does He ever yawn?”

Focusing on a few basic truths taught over and over works better than inundating them with a wide range of truths that never stick. Spiritually training kids is a marathon, not a sprint.

2. Teach Scripture through all their senses.

I kept a journal during my kids’ early years. Looking back, the basic, foundational biblical truths that stuck with them were learned through a variety of methods:

Songs. My daughters learned “Jesus Loves Me,” “The B-i-b-l-e” and other songs at home and church. We played these songs in the car and even as they slept at night. Bible truths set to catchy tunes are easy for them to remember.

Memory verses. This is where Awana is valuable. The verses my girls learned in Awana Cubbies helped them understand God’s salvation story and eventually start a relationship with Him built on His Word.

Bible storybooks and Christian-themed books for this age group. The best books combine biblically accurate, age-appropriate story telling with great illustrations.

Art. Coloring Bible-themed pages, making crafts at church and home, completing Bible-themed puzzles – they all help piece together an accurate picture of a walk with Christ.

3. Start a family night habit when they’re young.

Never done this before? Start by reading your kids one story from an age-specific Bible storybook for a few minutes once a week. Then, as you’re comfortable, try twice a week. Then maybe three times a week.

Or check out resources from Awana, like our Awana at Home Parent Kit.

If they ask questions you can’t answer, tell them you’ll talk more another day. Then find the answers from a good study Bible or from someone at your church.

Trust me. Family night will become one of the most treasured investments you make in your kids’ spiritual lives. It’s something you can do with them right up through high school.

4. Make your faith real to them.

Live out your relationship with God before your preschoolers. And include them in your faith journey when appropriate.

One approach is to teach your children to “pray” along with you. For instance, at dinner or bedtime you can pray for problems, challenges and other people as your kids try to keep their heads bowed and eyes closed alongside you.

Modeling prayer works for your kids. One time my wife forgot where she parked the car in a store parking lot. After a futile search, our then 4-year-old suggested, “Mommy, let’s pray.” Nicki quickly asked God to help them find the car. After praying, they looked up and immediately saw the car.

Lesson learned.

Your kids may even take it a step further. My wife and I aired a “difference of opinion” within earshot of our girls. A few minutes later, Nicki told us, “Jessie and I prayed that you would use your inside voices and get along better.”

5. Be patient – with them and with yourself.

Spiritually training young kids is challenging. You won’t have all the answers. They won’t pick up everything right away.

The idea of Jesus rising from the dead flew right over the head of my then 4-year-old daughter Jessica. The first time I explained it, she replied in typical preschooler fashion, “My feet are getting bigger.”

My advice?

1. Get a plan for your kids’ spiritual development. (How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph is a great resource.)
2. Pray for your kids and your parenting. (Place every detail of their lives and their future in God’s hands.)
3. Don’t underestimate your kids. Both my girls trusted Jesus to save them from their sins at age 5. Your kids may not make such a decision till they’re older, but be aware of signs that they are ready.
4. Be patient — with them and with yourself.
5. Expect any question or situation to arise, such as when my daughter asked if brothers can marry sisters!
6. Build the foundation for their future faith on age-appropriate basic Bible truths.
7. Ask your church for guidance. (You shouldn’t go this alone.)
8. Enjoy the ride.

What do you do (or what did you do) to raise your preschooler spiritually?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010 at 9:34 pm and is filed under Discipleship, Family devotions, Preschool. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.