Helping your kids repent

We all think we are basically good people. But we’re not. And neither are our kids.

“Jesus answered ‘No one is good except God alone’” (Mark 10:18).

Think about it. Did any of us have to teach our children to be naughty? To disobey? No. They come by it naturally.

Teaching them to repent is one of the most important things we can do as a mother. We all know we need to repent. But kids need some instruction on how to pray a prayer of repentance to God.

So, just how do we help our kids learn to repent?

Three tips for a repentant heart

Repenting isn’t something that we do once and then walk away. The Holy Spirit convicts us every time we sin and that can often be many times a day. Our kids need to learn how to handle their sins and how to repent just as often. Here are some ideas that you can use in your parenting to help teach your kids how to repent.

1.       Create a “sorry” list throughout the day or at night. I ask my kids during prayer time to think of one thing they are sorry about from the day. In the beginning, my kids often struggled to name one thing. Oh, how quickly they forget! With some prompting, they were able to remember something they did naughty that day and were sorry for. We then pray about it together, asking God to forgive them.

2.       Catch it at the moment. When your child is caught in the act and is sorry for what they did, get down and pray with them right then and there. Encourage them to apologize quickly to God for not following his ways and commit to doing better.

3.       Praise them. If your child admits their wrong without being prompted to by you, praise them. Let them know that they have done the right thing and you are proud of them.  

Lifetime habit

By teaching your kids how to repent, you are setting your kids up to walk with God throughout their life in a profound way. Once repentant prayer becomes part of everyday life for your kids, they will become better able to hear the Spirit when it prompts.

Practicing repentance can also help our children create stronger relationships with those around them. Acknowledging our sins can keep us humble. They will be better able to recognize when they are in the wrong and quick to apologize to others for the hurt they may cause.

“Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)

 Chandra