How to Teach Toddlers to Pray at Night

Teaching Bedtime Prayers Builds a Child’s Prayer Life

Aug 1, 2009

Toddlers thrive on bedtime rituals and can be taught simple bedtime prayers to help them learn how to pray.

Teaching young children bedtime prayers is one of the best ways to instill the value of family prayer in the home. The quiet and relaxed atmosphere at bedtime is one that will help reduce fidgeting, encourage children to relax into praying and emphasize the daily ritual of communication with God.

Bedtime Routine Helps Children Sleep

Although it is never too early to start praying with a child, when a toddler moves from a crib to a bed is a great time to begin more formal bedtime prayers. Children this age thrive on bedtime rituals, according to the ScienceDaily article, Bedtime Routine Improves Sleep in Infants and Toddlers, Maternal Mood. Researchers have found that a bedtime ritual not only helps ease the child into sleep but improves the quality of sleep and reduces the number of night wakings, the article reports.

Toddlers can be taught that after a bath, brushed teeth and a storybook, the family will pray together. The parent can sit on the child’s bed or the parent and child can kneel together. At this age, parents should assist children with making the Sign of the Cross.

Teaching Toddlers to Pray

A toddler’s first prayer will be the Sign of the Cross, and parents should teach the child to say the words with reverence. Choosing a toddler’s second prayer is a matter of family choice but there is one small prayer that may work well for this age. The Glory Be to the Father is a short prayer that encompasses what Catholics believe very succinctly.

The words are not overly advanced and this is a prayer the child will hear during the Rosary, if it is said in the home or at church. Hearing the Glory Be to the Father during the Rosary and at bedtime will help the child come to understand that God is everywhere and communication with God is not reserved for church or certain times of the day. Don’t expect memorization at this age; the adult should lead the formal prayer.

Praying for the Child’s Family

It is easy to combine formal prayer and free prayer for children at this age. After the formal prayer is said, the parent can say God bless each member of the family and have the child repeat the phrase. Children can be encouraged to add people they choose to the “God bless” list.

Be patient if the child wants to name everyone he or she knows or includes all the family pets and stuffed animals in the prayer. Since the goal is to help develop a lifelong habit of prayer, the child should be encouraged to add those who they feel need prayer to their list. Sometimes a child will create a long prayer list to avoid going to sleep. In this case the parent can specify that tonight they will pray for their closest family members or include “all of my stuffed animals” instead of naming each one.

Parents who want to begin praying with a toddler can incorporate formal prayer into the child’s bedtime ritual. Children will come to expect their bedtime prayers at night as part of their bedtime routine and family tradition. Parents can choose any prayers, but the Glory Be to the Father is a good choice after teaching the Sign of the Cross because it is short and simple. Parents can begin to teach kids about unstructured prayer by asking God to bless each family member.

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The copyright of the article How to Teach Toddlers to Pray at Night in Catholic Practices is owned by Genna Cockerham. Permission to republish How to Teach Toddlers to Pray at Night in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.