3 Creative Ways to
Engage Your Children

As parents, how can we instruct our children in a way that reaches their hearts and nurtures their spirits? What will make our instruction lifegiving? Those answers begin with understanding the age in which our children live. They’re exposed to a lot of information: television, magazines, music, mobile apps, websites, streaming videos, and so on. For all the advantages we’ve gained through media, we’ve lost the undistracted interconnectedness that once characterized families.

Today, parents have to work more creatively to connect with their children. The good news is that Jesus gave us the perfect example of what to do. He taught His disciples through parables, stories, anecdotes, analogies, illustrations, and physical touch—not to mention through miracles, healings, and supernatural events. Jesus was a creative teacher.

In our home, we instructed our kids by telling stories about brave children who had faith in the face of fear, or sharing parables about familiar people and places. We also looked in our children’s eyes, touched them tenderly to make a point, read Scripture with feeling and expression, and talked about God as we walked our personal journey. That kind of instruction brought the life of Christ into our home.

Here are three effective approaches that can help you instruct your children in a creative way.