Last night while laying in bed reading a book, Bubs came in with a worried look on his face. He was frustrated because he couldn’t get a particular movie out of his head. This is a movie that we haven’t let him see because he struggles with things being scary. This is also a movie that probably 95% of five year olds have seen several times. He watched it at a friend’s house.
Mommy: What’s wrong?
Bubs: I can’t get [the movie] out of my mind.
Mommy: What are you supposed to do when you get scared?
Bubs: I tried to pray but it didn’t work. God didn’t take it away.
Mommy: What is the memory verse that you have been working on at church?
Bubs: God will take care of you.
Mommy: I want you to say it over and over until you fall asleep.
Bubs: But what if the thoughts come back?
Mommy: You tell satan that you are Jesus’ boy because Jesus lives in your heart. God will take care of you.
After praying, Bubs went back to bed with a smile on his face.
As parents we want to protect our kiddos. Protect them from boo-boos, other mean kids, scary situations. But no matter what we do, those things are going to happen.
So, we try to prepare and teach our kids to know what to do when those “bad” things happen. Although placing them in a bubble sounds much more appealing, we all know it isn’t realistic. Praying and saying Bible verses is one of the ways we are helping our kids. Teaching them at God is always there and will take care of them – because the Bible says so.
What are you doing to help your child be ready for when those rough times come?
This is a great idea. Bubba doesn't like scary stuff either so I am extra vigilant about what he sees. I started having him pray about his temper to help him calm down. I like the idea of the bible verse over and over. I'm definitely going to get back on the ball of helping him learn some verse to pray.
The song "When I Am Afraid" (Ps. 36:3&4) which is on the Steve Green tape "Hide 'Em In Your Heart–Bible Memory Melodies, V.1" is a great chorus to learn for those scary times.
I remember teaching my younger step-brother (he is much younger) the Carman song "No More Monsters" years ago when it was popular. He had a tendency towards very scary dreams. One night I heard something in his room while I was visiting my Mom. I snuck to his door (thinking maybe he was crying out). He was singing, "no more monsters in my house" at the top of his lungs. Guess it worked, he went to sleep. God honors those requests.
We are teaching our children a two-fold approach. When our older son was scared during a camping trip, Daddy took him on a flashlight tour of the woods. They got up, put on their boots, walked until he was just starting to get scared, and turned on the flashlights to look around at the reality of what was in front of him. He got to see all sorts of wildlife that he never would have gotten to see during the daytime, even baby Raccoons.
But, bigger than that, we teach them about God, our Protector, and arm them with Bible verses and how to pray.
Like LaToya,I am teaching my boys to pray when they are angry or scared. They also love to have me sing "God is bigger than the boogie man" from Veggie Tales.
As per our conversation about public school and protecting our kiddos, you and M are right on track in "training" your Bubs to seek the only One who can always protect our hearts. It is a tough lesson to learn that our bodies may come to harm, but our souls and hearts are HIS!!!