When the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable that’s what motivational speakers say and I think I agree. As parents we need to know why we do certain things and communicate same to our children. We’ve been on the topic of Quite Time i.e Spending Time with God @inlushmeadowkids and today we want to answer questions! Why is Quiet Time important? What does God say about it? At what age should I start? Are my kids too young? How long should it be? I’m a mom staying abroad how do i even introduce it to my kids? Is it even possible? I totally understand these questions and that’s why our Guest today is the right person to answer all your questions!
Amma, is an amazing Ghanaian Mom of Three Beautiful children based in the UK. She believes in Whole Child Learning and creates amazing resources via @happy.fun.learningdone. She combines a variety of approaches, fun and practical activities to homeschool her children and over the years she has nurtured a family culture of spending time with God through Quiet Time with her kids. In this article, she breaks down what Quiet Time means from a Biblical perspective as well as essential tips & resources to help you (us) – Parents in Diaspora. For us @inlushmeadowkids, we love this article because Amma included several practical resources and backs up her point using words from God’s Love letter to us – THE BIBLE! We hope you enjoy reading!
First, in case you thought we have it altogether, let me shock you – Do my children sometimes squabble during quiet time? Yes!
Is it always ‘Quiet’ No! Have we given up? No! and I’m not sure we are giving up anytime soon! This is simply to allay your fears and assure you that as much as i make the effort to be consistent with this habit with my kids, we all juggle and it’s not always perfect but (by the grace of God) we have kept going with it. So start and keep going too! Before we delve into the WH Questions, here are my top tips:
- Be prepared and have all resources ready and in one place.
- Keep it short, sweet and simple (10 – 15 minutes for my children at present).
- I’ve found it useful to wake up earlier than the children to have Quiet Time alone but on days where that hasn’t been possible, I do my Quiet Time alongside / with the them.
- Aim to be consistent – repetition and consistency are the ingredients for building spiritual habits. My first and middle child (almost 7 and aged 5) have now developed this habit of doing a Quiet Time for themselves. If it’s important (and having a QuietTime most certainly is), we will be intentional about making time for it.
Also, here are some essentials I will always recommend for Quiet Time:
- Bible (we mainly use the NIV and for some verses we use the NIrV – do read and research to find the best version to suit your family). We prefer to use a resource as a guide but you could start in the Psalms / Gospels.
- A resource or a note book for the child to write or draw if they are at the stage of their learning journey where they can. They can also just listen in if they are younger (like my 6 month old) – faith comes by hearing.
- A dictionary (to look up unfamiliar words, some bibles come with a dictionary at the back for Biblical terms that may not be in a standard dictionary).
- Music (we tend to play worship music). Check out some of our worship music in the ‘useful links / resources’ section below.
- Sometimes we add a snack for after our Quiet Time (we call this Bible and biscuits).
So What exactly is Quiet Time?
There are several meanings but for us in the Christian Community, Quiet Time is time spent with God (ideally alone) but when developing this important habit with smaller children or children who are new to this, they will need to do it alongside an adult. When explaining to children, let them know it’s Similar to spending time with your best friend.
Why is Quiet Time important?
1. To fundamentally develop a personal relationship with God (Read James 4:8 / John 1:1).
2. To grow in the knowledge of the scriptures (Read 2 Peter 3:18 / 2 Timothy 3:15).
3. To receive light in a dark world (Read Psalm 119:105, Psalm 119:130).
How is a Quiet Time done?
Here’s one way to have a quiet time. This is included in Quiet Time resource I created for Children. You can get a copy here
https://happyfunlearningdone.com/shop
We’ve also recently enjoyed using Devotional Dippers which are a very practical resource for families as a whole. Find out more about them in the link below (under useful links / resources).
Some FAQ’s:
Q – What age can I start doing a Quiet Time with my children?
A – We started when my first born was 3 years old, I would simply include him when doing mine. My middle child was about 18 months and she would sit in. My 6 month old currently sits in too.
Q – Does it need to be done in the morning?
A – Not necessarily, but we prefer to. (Read Mark 1:35)
Q – Does my child need to write the verses and anything learnt?
A – Again, not necessarily but it does help if they are the stage where they can. There are various ways children learn so this can also be factored in. I personally find writing the verse useful for handwriting skills and more importantly, research shows that: ‘if you write something by hand, the sensory information increases the chances of the knowledge being stored for later.’
Q – My child has no motivation to do a quiet time, what should I do?
A – Keep it short, keep it interactive and factor in how the child learns best, e.g. if you have to sing the verse, do that, do some art work – do that, if you need to simply have a discussion over the breakfast table – do that! But most importantly, keep going and commend it to prayer too – ‘Lord, help __________ find delight in spending time with you, even at a young age. Amen.’
Q – I would like to do a Quiet Time in the morning with my children but there are days where we are genuinely late out of the house, what can we do instead?
A – We tend to pick up one of the Scripture Memory Cards and talk through the verse in the car. Playing the audio bible on YouTube is also an option or sing a verse from The Rizers on YouTube.
Other useful links / resources:
– For an in depth read on Quiet Time, I recommend: Understanding The Quiet Time by Dag Heward-Mills. Check out this book right here).
– Check out a short video guide on Quiet Time with children right here.
– For some worship music – click here.
– The Rizers – Rock band singing scripture on YouTube.
– Find out more about Devotional Dippers here.
You can also watch one of my videos that shows how i go about Quiet Time with my kids here
Finally, our walk with God is a relationship. We aren’t loved any more or less by doing a Quiet Time (Read Jeremiah 31:3). However, if we want to know God more, receive instruction, direction, hope and light for our lives, it’s important that we take delight in His word! (Read 2 Timothy 3:16 / (Read Psalm 119:105).
My prayer: as we lead by example and train up our children to spend time knowing God personally, may they find delight in God’s Word, in Jesus name.
‘And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart (Jeremiah 15:16).‘
Thank you so much Amma @happy.fun.learningdone for sharing these “realistisch” (as we say in Germany) thoughts with us! God Bless you! Sending you very Lush Hugs!
We are on a mission to help Christian African Parents in Diaspora find relatable, Christian colourful & exciting resources on their parenting journey. Please follow us on @inlushmeadowskids for more resources for kid and moms.