The best things in life are not always (or often) the easiest things. That includes Bible reading with toddlers. Jesus said “Let the children come to me”—no one in your family is too young to start meeting Jesus in his word.
But Jesus never promised that reading the Bible with little ones would always be easy! So here are five tips for reading the Bible with toddlers.
Starting to read the Bible when your kids are toddler-age may feel difficult, but it will mean that Bible-reading becomes part of their routine from the youngest age. What a joy to think that, as teenagers, they will be able to look back and not remember a time when God’s word wasn’t a daily part of their life!
So, get started and then keep going. Pick a time of day that is going to work for you to read the Bible with your young children every day. (Or, given the unpredictability of life with little ones, most days!) We went for between bathtime and bedtime. For others, mornings work best. But create a family routine, and then stick to it as much as you’re able to. Soon enough, you’ll find your kids reminding you about Bible time, rather than the other way around.
Find a good Bible for toddlers. That’s likely to be a Bible storybook that introduces little ones to the key stories of Scripture, and to the God who is the hero of all of them. Ideally, it will give a sense that the individual Bible stories are part of a bigger story.
A good Bible for little ones will be two things: faithful and fun. First impressions matter, and these Bible times with your toddlers will be their first impression of Jesus and of his word. When choosing resources for your toddlers, be more concerned, not less, that the truth is being told carefully. At the same time, God’s word is exciting and gripping. So be sure to find illustrations and a storytelling style that will engage your child.
This is not easy! All toddlers need help to remain focused. You could:
• Invite your toddler to help you by turning the pages.
• Ask them to spot something in the illustration.
• If you’re using God’s Big Promises Bible Storybook, there are icons on the side whenever God makes or keeps a promise, and young children can enjoy spotting each time an icon appears.
• Ask a simple question: “Who calmed the storm?” “Did God keep his promise to give Abraham and Sarah a son?”
• Create a sticker progress chart, and let your toddler put a sticker on it each time you have enjoyed a Bible time together.
We measure our kids’ physical growth over months or years—not days. It’s wise to do the same with their spiritual development. Don’t worry if your toddler simply won’t sit still one day, or if they seem not to have listened much for the last week. Keep going! If you do Bible times with toddlers regularly, then you will see progress over the months. You’ll realise they understand a truth about Jesus. You’ll overhear them telling a Bible story to some toys. You’ll find them praying to say thank you for something.
If you’re not excited about your Bible reading with toddlers, then your toddlers certainly won’t be! Talk about Bible times positively and enthusiastically—as something you’re looking forward to rather than something you’ve got to do, or something that needs to be squeezed in. After you’ve read a Bible story together, tell your toddler what excited you—what you love about God. Young children take their cues from their parents. Your words and your tone can foster in them an excitement about the Bible.
Paul was able to remind Timothy of “how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). What a joy to imagine that, one day, the same might be said of your children!
We recommend God’s Big Promises Bible Storybook, for toddlers, preschoolers, and early readers. Written by Carl Laferton, author of the bestselling The Garden, the Curtain and the Cross and illustrated by Jen Davison, whose artwork shapes the Very Best Bible Stories series, God’s Big Promises Bible Storybook is both biblically faithful and beautifully engaging.
92 foundational Bible stories, faithfully told and beautifully illustrated, which point to the one big story of the Bible—God making and keeping his promises.
Carl is Editorial Director at The Good Book Company and is a member of Grace Church Worcester Park, London. He is the best-selling author of The Garden, the Curtain and the Cross and God's Big Promises Bible Storybook, and also serves as series editor of the God's Word for You series. Before joining TGBC, he worked as a journalist and then as a teacher, and pastored a congregation in Hull. Carl is married to Lizzie, and they have two children. He studied history at Oxford University.
