Can You Teach Toddlers about Jesus?

When you start a garden the first thing you to is prepare the soil so it will be rich enough to provide food for the plants and for the roots to grow deep. I am writing a parent’s guide on how to build a strong foundation in Jesus for wee little ones and how you can teach your toddler to love Jesus with all his heart and mind. Should you wait until they are older? Why would you want to wait? Good news, the news of Jesus, must be shared and taught even before birth. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me…Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it,” (Matthew 19:14). When Jesus said little childrenHe was speaking about infants and toddlers as the word babies is translated from the Greek word brephosand is applied to children as young as eight days after birth.[1] In Matthew 18:10, 14, we are instructed not to look down on the little ones and that our Father is not willing that any of them should be lost.

Your child depends upon you for everything. Remember when you first heard and understood who Jesus was and what He did for you. Do you recall how excited you were with this new understanding and information? Do you still depend upon Him like an infant? You should.

Young children love repetition. Repeating biblical words and phrases all day long will help your child to not only verbalize but also understand the application as they witness the action that accompanies the verbiage. If they don’t fully comprehend don’t worry they will eventually. Sometimes it can be humorous to hear them speak their version of they heard. One day, my son, Guy, called my daughter, Lena, a Florida idiot. I was shocked and asked him why he would call her that name. With tears in his eyes, he replied that I had called her a Florida idiot. It was then that I realized he was trying to say Floridian. Although he did not know what a Floridian was at that time he did eventually learn the meaning. Just as your children may not fully understand biblical terms or verses they hear when they are two-years-old, one day they will.

A good way to instill biblical truths in wee little ones is to recite breath prayers and phrases. Breath prayers are prayers you can say within one exhale:

• Jesus loves me all the time
• God gives me friends
• Jesus is always there
• God made the pretty flower
• Thank you, Jesus, for taking care of me
• Thank you, Jesus for Mommy and Daddy
• I love you Jesus
• God is good

I call these moments that matter and can be used to indoctrinate God and His Son, Jesus, into their heart, soul, and mind. Helping to prepare the soil for the seeds to be planted and nourished later. Understanding biblical truth is ultimately God’s job and our job is to prepare the soil.

Blessings and start gardening!

Lee Ann Mancini

[1]Dr. Shirley K. Morgenthaler, Right From the Start, 25.

Helping to build a strong foundation in Jesus!