Children catch faith from those around them,

especially those who they live with. Finding ways to share your faith with your child will help them catch it.

There are lots of ways to bring faith into our homes and make this amazing journey with God as a family together. It’s not just about special times, but about the ordinary times of wonder, love and joy – and the times when things go wrong.

Here are just a few suggestions to help you live out your Christian journey as part of everyday family life.

Using every day activities to notice God and to talk to him

• Say thank you to each other and to God – at mealtimes, for presents, for just being there

• Setting out on a journey – ask for God’s blessing as you set off

• At bath time – remember the water of baptism with the promise for a new start with God.

• At bedtime – telling stories, saying prayers and taking time look back over the day is a great way of sharing the journey together.

• Go for a walk – look around and notice our wonderful world.  

Sharing your faith with your children is the best discipleship tool you have.

• Thinking of others - children will begin to understand there are others around them and across the world who live without enough food, shelter or love. Talk to them about charities and how your family can help. Look out for special family activities.

• Go to church or church events together – the Harborough churches will welcome you to their Sunday services and toddler groups, Messy Church and other special events.

• Sad times – families have difficult times. Relationships break up, people get ill or die, choices are made that don’t work out well. Don’t forget to ask for God’s help in these times too.

• Remember your child’s Christening or thanksgiving anniversary – show them photos of their special day. Light their candle and remember. Write a thank you card to godparents.

• Record the memories – start a photo album or scrapbook as a fun way to record the special times on their amazing journey.

• Pray – keep praying for God’s blessing and support.

It doesn’t matter if you’re not used to praying.

There are no rules about what words you should say, how long your prayers should be, where, or how often you pray.

Prayer is quite simply a conversation with God. Having him to trust and help us in any moment of life is both comforting and amazing.

You can pray whenever you like, at ordinary times and on special days. These are just a few examples of milestones in a child’s life when prayer might be especially helpful:

Birthdays, Christening and Thanksgiving day anniversaries, difficult times – being poorly, facing problems and sadness, moving on to secondary school, exam times, new relationships, first day at school

And, you can pray wherever you like – at home, in the car, on a walk, but some people like to find a quiet space somewhere. The more you pray, the more familiar it will become and your own prayer journey can be just as amazing for you as it is for the child.

There is no best way to pray.

Try different ways and work out what is best for you. Here are some simple ways to begin:

• Hold or look at a photo of the child you’re praying for and ask God to bless them today.

• Light a candle, and as you watch it burn, ask God to bless your child and help them be a light for others as they grow up.

• Imagine Jesus at your side and talk to him as if talking to your closest friend. Tell him everything that’s on your mind about your child, your family, worries, things you’re thankful for, how you can support them. Ask for his help and guidance.

• Just sit quietly and listen. God speaks to us in many different ways but we can learn to hear his voice. Some of the ways God may talk to us include a sound or an image or a feeling, an emotion or a sense of something or a thought coming to mind.

Try justpray.uk for more prayer help and inspiration, or to post prayers online. Or contact us if you would like someone to pray with you.

You are your child’s best teacher.

How you pray and spend time with God will give your child a priceless lesson. Here are a few simple ways to help a child to pray:

• Teaching them the Lord’s Prayer and talking about what each line means.  

• Giving them a prayer book to suit their age. There are many available; Eden and Scripture Union have a wide choice.

• Ask them what or who they would like you to pray for.  Their concerns and perspectives are often not what we expect.

• There are lots of types of prayer, including saying ‘Thank you’ to God for all the things we’re glad about, saying ‘Sorry’ for wrong things we’ve done and regret, and saying ‘Please’ for things we’d like God to do, or things we need help with.

• The first letter of each of those words spells ‘TSP’, the same as the abbreviation for ‘teaspoon’. To help a child to remember those types of prayers, you could put three teaspoons in a jar, each with a different letter on (T, S or P) and then invite them to take one out and think of a prayer they’d like to say to God.

• If you can, go together to church and join in with the prayers. There might be words and ideas that you can also use at home. Your church might also have special activities for toddlers, older children and families. Discover what prayers are said there as well.

• Start a collection of lollipop prayer sticks and keep them in a jam jar. You can decorate the jar with ribbon and stickers. On each lollipop write the name of someone or something that you want to pray for. At bedtime or meal times take a random lollipop and pray together for what is written on it.

Resources for families

These three resources are suitable for families exploring faith together. Let us know if you would be interested in joining a small group to explore with others.