Praying the Rosary with a Toddler — One, Eight, One, Fly!

    

With October being dedicated to the Holy Rosary, I thought this would be an appropriate time to share my family’s new tradition. With two little kiddos, the oldest being 2.5 years old, it can be challenging to come up with ways to incorporate our faith in the every day. It seems there is a lot they are just too young for still. When I proposed praying a decade of the Rosary each night, I’ll admit, I didn’t know if it would stick. But, after a few months, I’m happy to report it’s been quite manageable. For anyone who is interested in giving it a try, here are some things that have worked well for us:

• Start by making it fun. We keep our rosaries up on the fireplace mantle and let our daughter count to three and “fly” up to get them. She counts “one, eight, one” (counting is tough!) and then Daddy lifts her up to collect the rosaries.
• We start our Rosary after our youngest is already in bed. When she is a bit older, we’ll have her join.
• We purchased her own rosary, just for her. The one pictured in the photo is from Chews Life and we LOVE it. Having her own rosary makes it extra special. Baby / toddler rosaries are also much more durable! We learned this the hard way after she broke one of ours. Cue: beads everywhere!
• Praying the Rosary is built into her bedtime routine which everyone with a toddler knows is sacred.
• We only pray one decade; and we aren’t super strict about it. If it’s a rough night and she’s too tired or hyper, we skip ahead a few beads 😊 Trust me, we have some challenging nights. 🤣
• At the beginning we always ask her who she’d like to pray for. This is the adorable part. She always says “Mimi, Papa, Daisy, Wee Wee.” Aka: Grandma, Grandpa, their dog, their swing set. 🤷 Sometimes she prays for the Great Mow Mow (her stuffed animal cow).
• At the end, we let her “fly” the rosaries back up to the mantle.
• Rules: We try not to have too many so it remains relaxed. But, there are a few that help keep things structured:
  • She can choose wherever she wants to sit, but she has to sit somewhere.
  • She can play with her rosary. Daddy’s is off limits since he leads the Rosary. She can hold mine, but it can’t go around her neck. (See above bead incident).
  • Whipping her rosary around in the air is also discouraged, for obvious reasons. 🤦‍♀️

That’s what I’ve got so far! I’m curious, do you pray the Rosary with kids? What’s your best tip?

Blessings!

-Kate

Helpful Links

• Child's rosary in first photo from Chews Life, which also has free prayer resources for families!
• The beautiful Marian garden featured in the second photo is from House of Joppa!