PRAYING WITH YOUR CHILDREN A Guide for Families Pat Fosarelli Paper, $4.95 48 perforated pages, 8½" × 11" ISBN 0-89390-589-5 View Table of Contents View Excerpt View Bulk Pricing Quantity:

Praying with Your Children contains many creative strategies for praying with children from infancy through high school. Five different age levels are treated in separate chapters. The author gives dozens of concrete holistic strategies that are sensitive to the physical, psychological and spiritual development of children. This book is specially designed for family or catechetical use and includes handouts to give to each child.

Patricia Fosarelli, MD, DMin, is a pediatrician and serves on the part-time faculty of the department of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She is also a professor of spirituality and practical theology at the Ecumenical Institute of Theology at St. Mary's Seminary and University. She is currently a pastoral associate at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in downtown Baltimore.

Special bulk prices for Praying With Your Children

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1: What is prayer? (Introduction)

CHAPTER 2: The Prayer Life of Parents

CHAPTER 3: The Prayer Life of Children - An Overview

CHAPTER 4: The prayer life of infants and toddlers

CHAPTER 5: The prayer life of preschoolers

CHAPTER 6: The prayer life of early-mid elementary school-age children

CHAPTER 7: The prayer life of preteens and early adolescents

CHAPTER 8: The prayer life of older adolescents

CHAPTER 9: Special Circumstances

CHAPTER 10: Conclusion

Preschoolers' Brochure

Elementary School Brochure

Preteens and Young Adolescents Brochure

Older Teens Brochure

    What are some of these special circumstances that evoke special family prayers?

    Joyful events include the birth of a new baby; the adoption of a child; a birthday; a baptism; first communion; a promotion (adult or child); a graduation (adult or child); a wedding; a great report card; reception of an award, championship, or scholarship; national holidays; and church holy days.

    Sadder or more serious events include the death of a loved one; a terminal illness; the loss of a pet; a move that is not welcomed (either a family's own move or the move of someone with whom they have been close); personal tragedies (such as a major injury or house fire); and local or national tragedies, such as 9/11/01.

    Some strategies for family celebrations of joyful events:

1. Encourage everyone to attend and to have an active role. That includes both parents in two parent households.
2. Allow the children to have some role in the crafting of the prayer service, but maintain oversight. You will want to make sure that the service has some structure to it.
3. Select a time that everyone will be able to be together.
4. Choose a location that makes sense given the reason for the prayer service.
5. Depending on what the service is celebrating, try to have the person being honored present. If that is not possible (because the person is a relative who lives far away, for example), then display a picture of the person, preferably one with your family members in it.
6. If the event is a great report card or the receipt of an award, display the item. If the event is a national holiday, have some token of that holiday on display. If it is a religious holiday, display something that will remind all in attendance what the day is all about. This is easier to do on a day like Christmas (when you usually have a manger scene in the house) or Good Friday (when you can show a crucifix) than on a day such as the Immaculate Conception or All Saints' Day, although even these days can be imaged concretely. Remember, younger children need tangible reminders of the purpose of the day. Be creative!
7. Remember to include candles, which remind us of God's presence. They are wonderful, concrete objects for the younger children, and, if you use scented candles, their aroma will be another tangible part of prayer.
8. It is always a good idea to begin a service with the sign of the cross, the most concrete sign of our faith in Christ. It is a prayer that even young children know.