Young children have the ability to develop confidence, trust, and truth.
These abilities are embedded in them by God. While learning critical thinking—a tool that will help them make good decisions—is a great step in their lives, learning to love God with all their heart, soul, and mind is the first step.
Teaching children to become critical thinkers allows them to understand why they desire to love God first and foremost. You can learn about this in our critical thinking podcast episode.
So, how can we build foundations and teach critical thinking? These seven ideas will help:
- Give your baby a “Jesus Loves Me” Lullaby Teddy Bear, by Gund. By the time your child enters preschool, the words the teacher says will be familiar. Children who are familiar with Lullaby Bear often say, “I know this song!” when they hear the teacher play it in class. This happened with my son!
- Babies love board books that are filled with colorful pictures and fun pages to touch and feel. All God’s Creatures, by Karen Hill, is a really good example. It concludes, “Thank you for animals, big and small. Heavenly Father, you made them all!”
- BibleToys.com and ThePuppetStore.com also have some great Christian toys for young children.
- Children enjoy arts, crafts, and games. Wehavekids.com is a Christian-themed website with amazing crafts.
- Play Christian card games that are educational. ChildrensMinistry.com has a nice list of biblical games for preschoolers.
- Read Bible stories to your kids. There are a plethora of Bibles geared towards young children. Also, read picture books that teach children to pray to Jesus in real-life situations. Our Sea Kids series helps children build a foundation in Christ and learn to love others as Christ loves us.
- Most importantly, make sure your children know how much you love Christ. Try to show the love of Christ to everyone you encounter. Show your love of Christ through what you do, and remember that “Kind words are like honey — sweet to the soul and healthy for the body” (NLT).
