If you have a two or three year old child or have ever been around one for a time, you know that they can ask more questions than a game of Trivial Pursuit. Most of the ones they ask are not real brain busters because they usually start with, who, what or why, but after more than a few minutes of this line of questioning you may be tempted to give the kid some Nyquil. Let me suggest something else. Take their God given curiosity and turn it around on them for His glory. Catechize them.
Historically, Christians have catechized their kids since the days of the reformation in the sixteenth century. In times past, the way a pastor would know whether or not the father was discipling his children faithfully was by coming by the home and asking the kids the catechism questions. If they didn’t know the answers, he would tell the dad to get with it and start leading his family. There are Reformed catechisms, Catholic catechisms and some that have nothing to do with spiritual things at all. All a catechism is, is a set of specific questions that have specific answers that teaches as specific subject. The type that we use in the Grimes family is the reformed theology Westminster Shorter Catechism. This one I linked to has somewhat outdated language, but you get the idea.
But what’s the point? Well, I’m glad I typed this question to make it seem like you asked it. Young children are not able to read on their own and it is hard for them to sit for long periods listening to Scripture or preaching, but we don’t want to wait until they are older to start teaching them the things of God. So then, what we do is ask them short one sentence questions that have short one sentence answers to teach them good sound doctrine.
Let me be clear up front, catechizing our kids in no way replaces Scripture; it supplements it. If I had to choose one or the other, there is no question it would be the Bible. What the catechism does though, is help children understand the Bible at a very early age. I consider myself a reformed baptist, but I worship at a Presbyterian church (PCA). In the reformed faith, Presbyterians make up the majority of people who catechize their kids, but I started with Jack before we ever began going to the Presbyterian church. Thankfully, more baptist churches are becoming more reformed and starting to encourage their people to catechize their kids.
We started with Jack a couple of months before he turned three. It depends on how much you have been reading to your child throughout their life as to how well they listen and how much they comprehend. You should read to your infants everyday even if it’s just a little bit. Read them anything from little baby books to the Bible or just whatever you are reading. Just do it out loud (obviously) and consistently. That’s what we did with Jack and he had no problem with catechism when he was under three. If you haven't been, start now. Build them up slowly to love books. And I strongly suggest a very limited time watching TV. It kills their attention span.
How we catechize is the biggest reason for our success. I purchased the book Big Truths for Little Kids by Susan and Richie Hunt. It is so great. It has 31 or 32 stories that follows a family of believers and each story goes along with the three or four catechism questions at the beginning of each chapter. You can successfully catechize by just printing out the questions and going through them with your child. This is how they did it for hundreds of years in the past (except for the printer), but it is the stories that keeps Jack’s attention throughout and helps him remember the theology. This book is an invaluable resource to my family.
Once Jack was established in the questions and answers, I did not allow him to answer, “I don’t know.” That is not an acceptable answer because I know that he knows the correct one, he just isn’t paying attention. We must not let our kids be lazy. If I tell him to think about it and give him a minute, he will usually remember the answer. Of course, there are times when he truly doesn’t know because he forgot and thats okay. We review a lot. If you don’t, they will surely not remember it. With the book we use, I usually ask him the questions from the night before and then the questions for the current night before going on to the story. At the end of the story there is a verse that we work on memorizing. He is even better at it than me sometimes and has to correct me.
Jack loves it. He asks for it if I forget or am too tired. This is what we usually do after baths and before bedtime. We read a Bible story and then read our catechism story. I am so thankful for the grace that God has given my son to actually desire His word (Bible) and the truth of His word (catechism).
Tip: Pray and consider doing this with your children. You are their leader and are responsible for their spiritual well-being and so I have no place or authority to tell you to do or not do this with them. You must make the decision, but as you can probably guess, I highly recommend it.
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