Bible Story For Kids – Making Passover And Easter Stories Appropriate For Young Children
As the holidays approach, children may be hearing the Passover or Easter story for kids. Both of these stories have gruesome and hard to understand parts so how do you tell them to young children?
Make your language developmentally appropriate
As much as you can, use language that your child already knows e.g. “they were mean, unkind”, “bad things happened to him”.
Answer questions as honestly as you can
Depending on how much and in what ways your child has been told the stories, they may ask some questions that are tricky for you to answer. Answer as honestly as you can while maintaining a developmentally appropriate focus. Do not be afraid to answer with “that’s hard for me to explain” or “let me think about that” and then discuss with your partner or friends how you want to answer.
Give reassurance that those things are not going to happen to them
Your beliefs will effect how you frame this but give your child some reassurance that the bad things in the stories are not going to happen to them. It is important that we are truthful with children while still making them feel safe e.g. “That was a long time ago”, “Things like that don’t happen to little boys and girls”, “Mommy and daddy are here to look after you”.
Acknowledge the story but focus on what we do to mark or celebrate it
While it is important to many people to start teaching the stories of these religious holidays, it is also important to focus on how we mark them. Both celebrate Spring and renewal and have many aspects that are fun for young children to get involved with.
Dr. Jemma Helfman is a child and adolescent clinical psychologist. She works at Kidcrew, providing assessment and interventions for children with a variety of presenting difficulties. Jemma also provides consultation and training to schools and daycares.
