By Victoria Mitchell
You’ve started on your own apologetics journey, and you see the importance of passing this knowledge onto your children. Apologetics is a great tool to help give your children a firm foundation and bring them to faith in Christ by opening their eyes and hearts to the truth.
But where do you start? How do you get your kids to listen and actively engage? You don’t have to wait until they’re older; you can start helping them have a strong biblical worldview at a young age. After all, they will require discernment as they encounter people and ideas every day.
As a mom of young children diving into apologetics myself, I have learned tactics over the years—simple things to say and do throughout the day that will make it feel less overwhelming and more natural and easy.
How Young Is Too Young?
As someone who hadn’t even heard about apologetics until I was an adult, it was a little intimidating to think I could start teaching it to my children at a young age. It seemed beyond their reach since they didn’t have the reasoning capabilities of an adult. The truth is, though, that children are capable of soaking in a lot of information and being able to repeat it. I realized that I didn’t need to get into the minute details of every issue, but I could start laying the foundation. Just as I teach my children their ABCs before they learn how to read, I also need to teach my children the fundamentals they will need to build on. You can introduce apologetics as soon as your children are able to hear you read Bible stories to them.
Where Do I Start?
Knowing where to start can feel overwhelming. There are books, articles, curriculums, and podcasts galore these days. The best place to start is with the Bible. Exactly how you start will depend on your child’s age and abilities. This may look different from child to child. For my four year old, we read short, summarized versions of biblical accounts. My older children, who know how to read, may open their Bibles to read directly from it. Whichever way they take in the information, we talk about it and I answer any questions they have.
I don’t always have the answers, but they know that I will find the answer for them. I have found that the best place to start is to keep it simple by discussing with them what they learned at church the previous Sunday. All my children learn about the same biblical account no matter their age, and my youngest is always excited to be able to be a part of the conversation with my older kids.
As they learn more about God and his truths, I am then able to connect it to the world around them. This is where we get to bring in apologetics! Science, history, and math are no longer just things they have to learn; we look at them as a way to see God’s design and sovereignty.
I never assume that messages in the things they watch or read will just go over their heads or not affect them. They are forming their worldview, which is usually set by age 13.1 So when reading books or enjoying a television show or movie, we discuss what we’ve heard and compare it to the truth of God’s Word. This can seem intimidating, but with intentional conversations and time spent with our kids, we will be helping to give them a biblical worldview. We can’t expect the church alone to shape our children. We, as their parents, should be actively helping them to see the intersection of the Bible and their world.
What Do I Say?
One of the most challenging parts of teaching your kids apologetics is knowing what to say and feeling like you need to have all the answers. When teaching young children, it’s okay to say, “That’s a great question. I don’t know the answer, but let’s find out.” I’ve had to say that several times to my kids over the years.
Young children are naturally curious and will have some great questions. My oldest always loved to ask me hard theological questions. Sometimes I knew the answer and was able to quickly respond. Other times, I had to admit that I wasn’t sure of the answer but that we could find it together. Be willing to learn with your child. Being asked tough questions helped me to grow because I had to think about why I believed what I believed instead of just parroting what I had been taught in church. Pray daily for the Holy Spirit to guide your words and actions as you raise these little ones to follow the Lord.
As Christians, we are mandated to always be “prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Pet. 3:15). It’s important that we start to teach our kids how to navigate the world around them by rooting them in biblical truth during their formative years. Though they may not understand all of it, they will carry it with them. Teaching them apologetics doesn’t have to be complicated; it can be as simple as reading the Bible and connecting it to what they read, watch, and learn. Starting in the early years will help make this a natural part of their life.
Scenarios
Here are some examples of discussions you can have with your children that will help you tie apologetics into your Bible lessons and daily lives.
- You’re watching a show or movie together where a child character is constantly defying or disrespecting their parents. This is a good opportunity to discuss how God wants us to honor our parents and what that looks like.
- Your child loves dinosaurs and you are reading yet another dinosaur book they chose at the library. The book starts with talking about the Big Bang and evolution. This is a good time to talk about what the Bible says about creation instead of skipping these pages. Depending on their ability, this is a good time to have your child make observations of both worldviews. Making observations is a good step to take to get them to closely observe what they are reading.
Notes
- Hillary Morgan Ferrer and Julie Loos, “Calling All Mama Bears,” in Mama Bear Apologetics: Empowering Your Kids to Challenge Cultural Lies, ed. Hillary Morgan Ferrer (Harvest House Publishers, 2019), 33.