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hobbitmom
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| Posted: April 12 2007 at 1:27pm | IP Logged
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Maybe this will be covered more in Meredith's Carnival of Toddlers... Ds is 22 months, and I'm ashamed to say I'm at a loss for what to teach him about the Faith, or how. He is our first child, so there aren't older siblings from whom he could pick up anything... it all has to come from me and dh, and neither of us had much of a Catholic upbringing. When I was a kid, my family said grace before meals, "Now I lay me down to sleep..." before bed, and went to Mass on Sundays (without my dad, who didn't convert until I was in high school). That was it. I didn't know how to pray the Rosary until I was in college!
I've taken ds to daily Mass three times a week for almost a year now, and he's almost always quiet and attentive. He loves to point to "Mama Mary" statues and icons, whether at church or around our house, and he wants to say grace several times a meal, so he can make a giant waving Sign of the Cross and yell "Ah-muh!" at the end. 
All this is cute, but what more can I do? I've found a couple of board books with gentle pictures and explanations of the Our Father and Hail Mary; right now he's more interested in the pictures, of course. I keep feeling that there's more I should be doing, but I don't know what...
All you moms with big families, can you remember back to when your oldest kids were tiny? What did you do to teach them about God?
Amy
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: April 12 2007 at 2:21pm | IP Logged
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I answered you over in living faith.
At this age I just take them and let them see everything.. experiencing it as much as is possible.. telling them what they're seeing.
It's the time to tell them that that is Jesus on the cross.. and Mary in the corner, and learning to pray, and that God loves them..
The explainations I generally hold off on until they're asking "Why".. kids are really good at asking "why" so I have no concern about missing those 
When I can I explain things as simply as possible. And even then most of my explainations are for older kids..
The littles learn ALOT from observation.. seeing you doing the things at Mass (singing along, kneeling, recieving Communion, etc) will last better than all the explainations you could give.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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mathmama
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| Posted: April 12 2007 at 2:40pm | IP Logged
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With my daughter her learning about the Faith has seem to come merely by accident as I don't think one can sit down and teach a toddler (my DD is 29 months). But here are the things that I think have helped her learn (which by the way comes alot through her questions and her observations). We have several Bible story books that were given to us. She loves them and can recite the Birth of Jesus story from one of them. Also, I give her lots of Holy cards. Sometimes I will buy them when I am at the Catholic bookstore or maybe they were given to us, but either way, she has a bunch of them. They are often on the floor with her books and some might find this disrespectful, but it makes it so she picks them up several times a day and will ask who is in the picture. Also, anytime a religious catalog comes in the mail it is hers. She often just pages through them (she was just doing this about 20 minutes ago). She knows alot of the Saints and can identify more icons than many adults (we are Byzantine Catholic). I am certainly on the lazy side, so I haven't really done anything except take her to Liturgy and expose her to things. I will say that during Liturgy she is pretty much my main focus. I often will explain to her what is happening and what is coming up, but only if she seems interested, I don't force it as I know at this age the attention span is limited.
So, I would say that exposure has been the key in our house. When I asked her what she was going to teach the baby she responded "about God's love" (a quote from a book) and today when I asked her who she was going to marry she said "Jesus" (maybe we have a Bride of Christ in our midst?). Good luck and also remember that alot probably has to do with the child's personality as to what they pick up and when they pick it up.
Beth
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JennGM
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| Posted: April 12 2007 at 3:19pm | IP Logged
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Amy,
I think you are doing well. So much at this age is watching you. You are surrounding him with images of your Faith, taking him to Church, showing him the sign of the cross, praying together as a family...you are planting the seeds.
I bought picture books (Cay's Catholic Mosaic is a great help). The text might be too much now, but I would thumb through the pages and paraphrase and tell the stories. We starting reading books at 6 months old. Over time he has grown into these books.
I have a few suggestions for reading materials for you. Most are OOP, I'm sorry to say.
From Crib to Stroller, from birth to 3 years, for Parents. This was a series of pamphlets, and it's here in digital form.
There is an old OOP book entitled Catholic Mother's Helper printed by St. Anthony Guild Press that has some talks about Jesus and his life for mothers to give to their children. They are sweet and different age levels are given.
Another book that is more readily available on Bookfinder.com is Baby Grows in Age and Grace by Sister Mary De Lourdes. This is the best book I've found breaking down the spiritual elements at different ages, and much advice and help for parents. It has been printed as a book, or part of a record guide, too.
The in-print book is Guiding Your Catholic Preschooler by Kathy Pierce and Lori Rowland.
Another pamphlet, Religion in the Home: Monthly Aids for the Parents of Pre-School Children by Katherine Delmonico Byles, Paulist Press, 1938. Here are the links month by month:January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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JennGM
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Oh, one more thing, but it's the biggest of all. Your love as parents, showing love for each other and then for your child illustrates to your child God's love for him. That's one of the biggest messages at this level -- how much God loves them, in so many ways. But right now all that is tangible is YOUR love, so that's how to teach. In words we talk about how Jesus loves us, Momma Mary and her love, and the child then understands this love.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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Angie Mc
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You are doing so well, Amy! By posting your question, you show that you are in touch with your child and that you have a strong desire to help him to love God and the Church.
JennGM wrote:
| Oh, one more thing, but it's the biggest of all. Your love as parents, showing love for each other and then for your child illustrates to your child God's love for him. That's one of the biggest messages at this level -- how much God loves them, in so many ways. But right now all that is tangible is YOUR love, so that's how to teach. In words we talk about how Jesus loves us, Momma Mary and her love, and the child then understands this love. |
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Lovely, Jenn.
I also have found it helpful to trust that God provides what we need, when we need it, when we stay close to Him in prayer. When our first is so little, it is easy to panic and think, "How will I ever be able to teach him all there is to learn?" Well...God provides! In the early years, so much of what children learn is through informal means. Yet, the importance of these informal means should not be minimized. You see, by loving your child and husband, bringing him to Mass to be with our Lord in a special way, saying your prayers, and providing a rich home environment, you ARE teaching your child consistently about God  .
(Plus, hanging around this board, you will find a wealth of specific ideas that will bless you and your child as he grows!)
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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hobbitmom
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| Posted: April 13 2007 at 1:14pm | IP Logged
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Thank you for all the suggestions -- and Jenn, thank you for all the links! Angie, what you said about it being easy to panic is SO true... there is so much I don't know about living the Faith that I almost wish I could give ds to one of the beautiful families here, where he could learn all the things I feel like I can't teach him, or can't teach him well.
Thank you for understanding. You all are a great comfort to me.
Amy
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MomofMaddy
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Great job already done. The first thing that is so important is realization for self and others. You have already done that, and are aware that there is so much to learn and that there are always ways to improve. Your baby is truly blessed to have you and God must be so happy with your efforts. My little girl is 9 months, and we have been taking her to Mass ever since she was 2 weeks. Besides her being able to "get to know" our faith what we do as a family, I have realized how awesome it is for others, younger, but especially older people to see a little child at church. Without fail, people gather in our pew after Mass just to talk to her. What this must do for their faith too! Keep up your good work. With faith, all things are possible, and God knows what your family needs most. With an open heart, you will be led where you are meant to go, in terms of teaching and learning.
God bless from Hawaii!
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CatholicMommy
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I wanted my son to understand about gentle touch as well as reverence for anything sacred. We have had a low prayer table since he was a young infant, with things on it he is actually allowed to touch - with proper guidance: varying statues, Bible, stand-alone crucifix, etc. There were never more than 3 items on the low prayer table at any time and this has allowed him to sit and focus on those things.
By 18 months, he would carry the crucifix above his head while walking around the house singing, actually it sounded more like chanting which isn't bad either.
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Teaching wee ones about God
