So after being quite convinced that praying together as a family, using the prayer table as a focal point, was the best possible idea, the rivalry between my two boys has made that totally untenable.
I'm hoping we can get back to it one day, but in the meantime I'm doing separate prayer times with each of them around bedtime. Which is actually good, because they have quite different religious needs at the moment, one being 5 1/4 and a naturally loving and affectionate child who is all about the Good Shepherd, and the other being 6 3/4 and a naturally rule-orientated fellow with a tendency to ignore the spirit of the Law in favour of the letter (he gets that from me).
So just in case I have given the impression that you're doing it all wrong if you're not using a prayer table or whatever, please ignore said impression. I suspect I overstressed the outward form of the prayer time in a previous post. And the prayer table with all its accompaniments is a wonderful tool. But the really important thing is that you are praying with your children (every day if possible), and that they see you praying, and that you are trying to be aware of the themes most appropriate to their ages and personalities. The best thing about it all? We do our best and God will do the rest. (Thank goodness for that!)
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