One of the best lessons I learned as a young mom was babies thrive on routine. Like grown adults, babies like to eat, sleep, and play at basically the same time every day. And when you include a bedtime routine every night before bed, it prepares your baby physically and mentally for good sleep.
The bedtime routine was a lot of fun at our home because Mommy and Daddy were both involved in giving the baby a bath, reading a bedtime story, singing lullabies, and praying for our family.
It was especially fun for Daddy who he didn’t get to spend as much time with the babies as I did. Being involved in a bedtime routine gave him the opportunity to form a special bond with the babies.
We also used this time to begin teaching our children about the love of Christ. We sang songs about our faith, read Bible stories, and prayed that God would raise up our children to be a godly man and woman.
This routine starts when the children are babies, but it can last throughout childhood. Here are some suggestions to help your bedtime routine teach your children about your relationship with God:
Sing Christian songs and lullabies. The songs you sing to your baby don’t have to be “baby” songs. I often choose worship songs and hymns. Some of my favorites were:
- “Jesus Loves Me”
- “Jesus Love the Little Children”
- “Isn’t He”
- “Because He Lives”
- “Holy Holy Holy”
Read Bible stories. There are dozens of Christian children’s books that break down Bible stories in short snippets and include colorful pictures for babies and children to look at. You can also select Christian children’s books that point to Biblical principles.
Remember to pray. If your children grow up with parents who pray regularly, they will likely grow up to pray regularly. Through the years, pray for them, but also pray with them. Remind them often that God promises to listen to our prayers (1 Peter 3:12), and share with them the times God answered your own prayers.
Here are some ways to pray for your baby:
- Give thanks for your son/daughter.
- Give thanks for God’s provisions on your home.
- Ask for his/her salvation.
- Ask for the grace to be godly parents.
Here are some ways to pray with and for your child:
- Give thanks for your son/daughter.
- Pray God’s blessings over him/her.
- Ask your child how you can pray for him/her.
Not everything we did during our bedtime routines was strictly Christian in nature. (Dr. Seuss books were among our favorite bedtime stories.) But it doesn’t have to be. In the book of Deuteronomy, God commands the Israelites to pass on their legacy in a similar way—through everyday activities:
“These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead” (6:6-9).
What’s important is to keep Christ at the center of it all even the mundane activities like bedtime. And starting when your children are babies only makes it easier to continue it throughout their growing up years.