Teaching Children

I teach my young kids the ins and outs of bathrooms and bodies by leaving the bathroom door open and answering their questions. Today, as I prayed about teaching my children to have a personal relationship with God, I realized I can teach spirituality the same way. I can show them my private life of prayer. What are your life hacks, especially for teaching your children the gospel? What are your favorite ways to help them develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God the Father?

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Video transcript (edited):

I just had an insight about teaching my children the gospel! I've been working this last year on teaching my oldest, especially, to have an active relationship with God. He absorbed some religious principles as he was growing up when we were doing things like reading scriptures, praying, going to church and those kind of things. But I realized one day, as he was preparing to be baptized a member of our church, that I wanted him to have a deep-rooted relationship with God, the way I have a relationship with God, but I wasn’t sure how to teach it.

The insight I had today is to use the same technique I’ve used in another aspect of parenting — that of toilet training and teaching the fundamentals of sexuality. Please forgive me for a spell while I talk about going to the bathroom!

With my young children, -- like 0-5 years old -- I don't keep much privacy. I leave the door open when I'm showering and going to the bathroom and my children come in and out. This means that as they've grown up I have had many opportunities to talk with them about private topics, such as preventing sexual abuse, modesty and privacy, bodies and bodily functions, sexuality, puberty, and hygiene.

These topics are important! And I want to teach my children about them before others do, using appropriate vocabulary. As they've been exposed to my private life those conversations have come naturally.

Today, as I prayed about how to teach my son spirituality on a deeper level, I realized that I need to use the same technique. I need to do open my private life of prayer and spirituality up to my children.

For example, when I pray with my family or when I pray in church or even when I pray with my children, I pray more formally. I do more talking and less listening. But when I pray privately with God I have a conversation. We talk back-and-forth. I say something and then I listen. I share my real feelings. It's much more organic, like an intimate relationship.

Even when I pray privately, with each of my children, I don’t pray in this deeper, personal way. So then, how are they going to learn it???

I realized today that as a mother I have the privilege of opening up that private relationship I have with God and showing it to my children the same way I show them how to go to the bathroom. What a privilege! I mean, one way mothering is hard is losing all those normal barriers of privacy with my children, and yet what a privilege to be able to teach them these personal, private, essential parts of life! It’s an intimate, tender service that can happen between my five-year-old and me or my eight-year-old and me.

So that's my thought for you today. It’s still bright and new. I haven’t tried it out yet to see how it actually goes. But I’m excited to give it a shot.

What are your life hacks, especially for teaching your children the gospel? What are your favorite ways to help them develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God the Father? I would love to hear. You can share in the comments below or via email.

Thanks so much!

Keep shining!