Carving out a little bit of time in the mornings to ground yourself and presence yourself with your loved ones can offer immense spiritual benefits and really sets the tone for the rest of your day.

Whatever age your kids are or whatever stage of faith you are at, there is no time like the present to stop doing and start being with the Lord.

If you want to establish a prayer routine for your family the key is consistency.

By doing this your children will know exactly what to expect everyday.

Depending on the age of your children, it may be beneficial to be more flexible, creative and open to how prayer time looks. Your daughter might not want to sit down and your son might be running in and out of the room but it’s much better that they’re near prayer than not at all.

Don’t exhaust yourself and interrupt prayer by giving out too much because they’re not “doing it right”. You want prayer to be desirable for everyone. A place where everyone can find refuge and not feel judged.

Having said that, we experience God’s creation through the medium of the body. We are incarnate beings therefore a simple change in posture- kneeling, bowing, sitting upright—is an outward expression of an interior reality. If we truly believe we are talking to/looking at/having time with the Lord we should do our best to approach him as the true King that He is.

Invite your children to make intentions for the day ahead or ask them if there’s anything they’d like to thank the Lord for. There’s no need to be rigid in how you approach the Lord, allow your children to surprise you.

The following is a structured prayer routine that you can incorporate into your mornings with children of any age!

1. Say good morning to the Lord and make a Morning Offering

O Jesus, 
through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, 
I offer You my prayers, works, 
joys and sufferings
of this day for all the intentions
of Your Sacred Heart, 
in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
throughout the world, 
in reparation for my sins, 
for the intentions of all my relatives and friends, 
and in particular
for the intentions of the Holy Father.

2. Greet your Guardian Angel

Angel of God, my guardian dear,
to whom God’s love commits me here,
ever this day be at my side,
to light and guard, to rule and guide.

Amen.

3. Come Holy Spirit – a prayer for guidance

Come Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love.

Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.
And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit,
did instruct the hearts of the faithful,
grant that by the same Holy Spirit
we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations,
Through Christ Our Lord, Amen

4. Goals and Intentions for the day

Ask your family members what do they want to accomplish this day with the help of God? Is there someone or something that they’re praying for?

5. Silent prayer

We aim to do two minutes but start small and build up to what you feel is an appropriate length for your family.

Additional add-ons:

• Check the liturgical calendar – Is it a Feast Day?
• Daily Saint
• Bible story
• Psalm

Whatever you decide is right for your family, remember that you’re responsible for your children’s faith formation. Nothing will last as long as the habits they’ve made in the home. Also, don’t expect them to participate in something that you yourself are not committing to.

A final thought…

You might consider consecrating your family to a particular person or devotion.

For example my family are consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Essentially we are saying “We belong to You, and we trust You to lead us to holiness”.

We accept her as our mother too and are under her spiritual protection.

How did we do this?

• A prayer of consecration—can be a formal formula or simple heartfelt words

• Giving Mary permission to work in your family’s life (as a mother, intercessor, guide)

• A commitment to live out that entrustment—perhaps by growing in Marian devotion (praying the Rosary, honoring feast days, etc.)

• Trusting that Mary leads us always to Jesus—never away from Him

In short, you can consecrate your family to Jesus (Sacred Heart), Mary (Immaculate Heart), St. Joseph, the Holy Family, Divine Mercy—or even all of them together!

Each consecration has unique graces and focus, but all are acts of trust, love, and dedication to growing in holiness as a “domestic church.”