‘We Show Kids We Do It Too’: How Real Parents Are Sharing Their Faith With Kids

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How do you share your faith with your kids? This is the question we asked our community Smart Parenting Village and many parents readily shared how they pass on their faith, whether Catholic, Christian, or even of different religions at home.

Most parents say praying together as a family is the main way they teach their kids faith.

There are many studies throughout the years that consistently prove that raising religious children have many benefits which include “less drug, alcohol use; lower rates of depression and suicide; better sleep quality; and greater hopefulness and life satisfaction,” says the Quartz article entitled ‘Should you raise your kids religious? Here’s what the science says’

However it must be noted that studies have also shown that “there is no moral difference between children who are raised as religious and those raised secular or non-believing.” This is because “Moral intuitions arise on their own in children, independently of religious understanding.”

Annette Mahoney, a professor of psychology and author of The Best Love of the Child: Being Loved and Being Taught to Love as the First Human Right says “religion is not especially helpful for the roughly 53% of US adolescents whose faith is sporadic or poorly integrated.”

This means integrating faith with daily living is essential. If you want to share your faith with your kids, here are five tips from real parents.

5 Simple Ways Real Parents Are Teaching Their Kids About Faith

1. Pray with your kids while they are young.

“We ask our daughter to join us every time we pray,” says Czar Capistrano-Gonzales. “Tigil lahat ng ginagawa at bigyan ng oras ang pagdarasal.”

She adds, “Kapag scared siya, sinasabihan namin na mag-pray lang at huwag matakot kasi kasama niya palagi si Jesus.”

2. Teach kids to pray by themselves when they are able to.

Chelsea Chua says “I taught them the essence of praying. Why we pray, who to pray to, what prayer and how to pray. Maganda na habang bata palang itinuturo na yun kasi nasa age sila na lahat naabsorb nila.”

Her kids are now 7-8 years old and she started teaching them to pray as young as two years old. “They experienced their own miracles kaya nakakatuwa. Living proof na sila at a very young age.

Chelsea says her kids’ miracles involve their nightmares. “It started when they had nightmares. I told them to pray, ask Jesus to spare them from nightmares and protect them as they sleep. 

“In the morning my eldest told me he had a great dream. He told Jesus daw na ‘wag na po siya magdream ng bad and let him dream of cars instead.’ He’s so happy that day and convinced pa his younger brother to pray steadfastly. 

She adds, “After that, every night I hear them pray na by themselves. Then praying for their stomachache, toothache, is another miracle story for them.”

READ MORE STORIES ON FAITH:

• Dear People Who Give My Noisy Kids Dirty Looks in Church
• Taking Your Kids to Church Might Make Them Happier as Adults, According to Study

3. Live out your faith as an example to the kids.

“Parents should be intentional in doing sharing their faith with their kids,” says Pamela Jane B. Galanan. “And you cannot teach them right if your life is not a living example of what you are teaching them.

She adds, “As parents, we are God’s steward of our children, let us do our best to pass on our faith to them. Let us teach them by God’s grace how to pray, to love Jesus and more godly things.”

4. Show how your faith in the daily things.

Alethea Bondad Tanguilan lists different activities such as reading the Bible, memorizing verses, and singing worship songs as their family’s way of passing their faith on to their kids. What they ensure to do as parents is to “practice what they preach”.

“Basically we let him see that we do those things too because kids follow parents’ examples. Then we apply what the Bible says in our daily lives like being loving in speech and actions, saying sorry and repentance, forgiving and asking for forgiveness.

She adds, “Kids’ minds and hearts are easy to build on, and the earlier we start, the better. We make Jesus the ‘bida’ in our everyday lives.”

5. Different religions? Be a blessing and foster gratitude.

Many parents in our Smart Parenting Village share that they practice a different religion from their partners, but they don’t let it get in the way of cultivating their kids' faith. They continue to pray as a family, says Czar.

Parents in the Facebook community said despite having different religions at home, they remind their kids to be thankful for what they have and to always be a blessing.

When there are conflicting ideas, Czar says respect is key.