Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation… 1 Peter 2:2

Do you struggle with knowing how to nurture your child’s spirit? So often, parents feel frantically busy and exhausted just keeping everyone alive. It takes thought and dedication to feed children spiritual food as well as milk, rice, and broccoli. When we internalize the truth of the gospel in our own hearts, we can share it with our children more affectively.

Feed children with words of empowering validation. Our words hold great weight in a child’s ears. What we say and how we say it can become the tone of their own inner voices. Gentle words deflect anger, whereas harsh ones encourage it (Proverbs 15:1). Tell your children often how much you love them, for it is an echo of the voice of our Father in Heaven!

We can also feed our children’s hearts and minds by being good stewards of fun. As odd as that may sound, it makes a big impact on a child to experience play with parents. We can also provide a secure place for our kids to explore media. Introduce your child to your favorite books and age-appropriate movies so you can bond together. When children encounter or are interested in questionable media, consider an alternative to forbidding it immediately. Instead, demonstrate and encourage open discussion (truly consider their perspective!) so that your child can learn to discern for themselves (Proverbs 22:6) and not hide from you.

Resource reading: 1 Corinthians 3:1-23