Daily Devotions for Young Children
In a previous post I laid out some principles for making daily Bible reading a habit for young children. I would encourage you to go read that article if you haven’t already!
Here I want to give some practical tips and share a few resources to make daily devotions (or whatever you want to call it) a reality for even the youngest members of your family. As you read you’ll find several pintables (something for each stage!) I am giving them away in hopes that they will be a blessing for your child. Also, I have links to my favorite resources. Most of these are Amazon Affiliate links. If you choose to shop on Amazon through one of my links I may earn a small commission. That blesses my family, however, I also would encourage you support your church bookstore or local Christian bookstore if those are options for you.
Starting Daily Devotions with Babies and Toddlers
Make it short and sweet!
Start out with a short time (3-5 minutes) and build as your little one is ready. Keep it happy! Say, “You get to have some Time Alone with God now! You can sing and pray!” Don’t go so long that it becomes a cry fest – from the start you want your baby to associate Time Alone with God as a pleasant time! Choose something to call this time so it isn’t confused with a time-out. Quiet time, worship and prayer time, Bible time, or Time Alone with God (TAG time) are all great examples.
The nice thing at this stage is that they are naturally confined to their crib and limited to the resources you provide. You have a lot of control over this time so you can be really intentional. When our babies were very little it was simply setting them down in their crib with some Bible music playing for a few minutes. As they were ready, I added toys, then Bible-focused books, a thankful photo album, and a snack cup with Cheerios or Kix. I do think the snack is vital to the success of the mission – little ones are more content when they have food.
Find Great Resources
Great resources are key! We had some CDs from Songs for Saplings that my oldest daughter listened to every day as a baby and toddler. After a while, I put them away but when we came back to them a few years later she could still remember and sing along to the songs! I do like having an old school CD player in my kids’ rooms rather than leave them with my phone. (I find phones spiral out of control real quick!) By about age 3-4 they are able to choose and play a CD independently which is great.
Choose music that isn’t obnoxious to your ears – that way you’ll be more inclined to play it for your baby! Some of our favorites are:
Sturdy board books about Bible stories are fantastic. Especially if you regularly read those same books to your little one so they begin to understand what those pictures are all about! I have a list on Amazon of books that I recommend. When you purchase through the link I earn a small commission. But honestly, babies and toddlers are really hard on board books especially when they are alone in their cribs with them! I would also suggest you check out your local thrift store!
My mom made these fantastic photo books for our girls and she gave me permission to rework them and make them available to you here! You just take a photo album and insert the pages from the printable along with your own photos! Remember that their response is also an important component to their daily devotions or T.A.G time. Thanking God, praising Him, talking with Him, and giving Him our cares are all ways to respond to what He says in His Word. There are zero age limitations on prayer!
Daily Devotions for Pre-Readers
By “pre-readers” I am talking about kids who are a little past the toddler stage but aren’t quite reading yet. You want to provide them with resources that engage them and are easy for them to use independently. Similar to what I suggested above with Babies and Toddlers you’ll want to give boundaries and joy. Boundaries – give them clear parameters for location, time, and activity. “Sit here until the timer goes off and do x,y,z.” Joy – make the resources exciting and give them a snack! Kids are always more content to sit in one place if they can munch.
In addition to the resources listed already for toddlers I would add in good story book bibles. We loved to listen to the audio Jesus Story Book Bible at this stage. It gave our kids a great big picture framework for understanding God’s word. The key is to familiarize your child with the books and resources so that when they are paging through by themselves they already know the stories and the content! We also used the Beginner Bible and the the Big Picture Story Bible.
I also made prayer books (that are available for you below) at this stage that were picture heavy so guide them as they prayed! I’ll say it again: Remember that their response is also an important component to this time. Thanking God, praising Him, talking with Him, and giving Him our cares are all ways to respond to what He says in His Word. There are zero age limitations on prayer!
Daily Devotions for Early Readers
Around ages 4-7 your child is probably starting to read but not ready to actually read the Bible. After all, even the most basic translations only get down to about a 3rd grade reading level. So, you need to find ways to support their reading. Here are some ideas:
Choose your translation
You can choose a translation based on reading level. A lot of my friends get their kids the NIrV because it is written at an average 3rd grade reading level so it is quite a bit easier to read than other translations. If your child is doing a lot of scripture memorization you may want to choose the translation they are using for memory work. If you have lots of situations where they are following along you’ll want to match translations for that. Our kids use the Children’s ESV (English Standard Version) because that is the translation that my husband and I use on a daily basis. Their Children’s Bible has some lovely illustrations.
Pick a Bible that is beautiful
Go for that imitation leather or the gold pages. If those aren’t options for the Bible you choose then consider a cool case for it or cover it with fun contact paper.
Find and highlight any verses they already have memorized
Use a post-it that sticks out of the edge to mark those spots. Verses they already have memorized are easy picking for reading! As they learn verses mark them! If there is something you are reading for family devotions help them put a book mark in those places.
Use the YouVersion app to have them listen to a passage and follow along (this may require some pre-teaching and set-up from you before they can do this by themselves).
Give them a reading plan
We’ve been using these reading plans from CharacterCorner.com and they are great for this stage. They involve just 3-5 verses each day and the readings are focused on “stories” in the Bible. During our morning time I pre-read the passages and we stick in bookmarks. Then, my kindergartener can easily find the passage on her own later and she can read it because she is already familiar enough with the story.
Have them do copy work and coloring
Give them a simple worksheet like this where they can copy a verse and illustrate it. Or, give them some scripture coloring sheets. There are dozens of books like these. I don’t think this kind of copy work is quite enough to satisfy them but it is a good supplement when they aren’t reading a lot and it gives them a lot of independence doing something they already love.
Teach your child that when they read the Bible they can also respond!
Worship and Prayer are a natural result of reading God’s word. Give them ideas of how they can respond to their reading and teach them to commune with God in prayer by modeling it for them often.
I created a Time with God book for my daughters that I’d love to share with you. I wanted them to have some structure but not have their time with the Lord feel scripted. This guidebook has them spend some time in Worship, reading the Bible, and Prayer. In each category there are some ideas of things they can do. I printed mine and bound it with a stack of blank pages at the back for them to use as a journal. You could use a 3-ring Binder or even just staple it. A nice journal or sketchbook would complement this well.
Conclusion
Likely, your child’s daily devotions will never be perfect – and they will always be evolving as your child grows! I encourage you to simply start! I do love to hear in the comments about your ideas, comments, and questions. Please give this article a share!
We love Slugs & Bugs! Lots of great resources here, thank you!
Slugs and Bugs keeps us joyful in our home! I am glad you like these resources – hope they bless your fam!
These are great! We do a daily ‘Bible Time’ with our kids and have worn their little Childrens Bible out, it’ll be fun to incorporate these devotions. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Jill! Well worn Bibles are a good sign!
What a helpful post! Thank you for all the great recommendations for resources.
Thank you Genevieve!