Children can start learning to pray even before they learn to speak in coherent sentences. Proverbs 22:6 says: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." You can start by teaching a very young child to make prayer hands and saying the words of the prayer for them. In doing so, for children as young as 12 months, (or when the child starts eating at a feeding table) you are building and reinforcing prayer as a good habit. Once your child learns language and begins to speak, he will learn various prayers through listening to the repetition of them, for example: in the morning, at mealtime, and at bedtime.
Children love rhyming phrases and will enjoy learning prayers that rhyme. So, start by teaching prayers that rhyme or have poetic rhythm. Most children learn these quickly. Your child will come to understand that praying is a part of his family's daily schedule by seeing you pray at certain times of the day. Have children to understand that God is our helper who loves us and that praying is having a conversation with God. Keep it simple.
Copyright - When to Start Teaching Children to Pray, Sharon Rose, Parents Want to Know 101, July 29, 2018. All rights reserved.
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