How do you teach your kids to pray?

From the day each of my children were born as part of their bedtime routine I have always sat and said the Lords Prayer to them and as they got older they began to learn the words themselves. I also than daily for any blessing I have received and have encouraged for them to do the same. My 4 year old asked if his party would go well the day before, bless and the following night thanked for the fact that it did. I also have always taken them to the family services at our local church, but do not insist they attend, it is their choice as they get older. They have also witnessed myself and my friends praying around my kithen table so I suppose in a sense I lead by example and if they choose to follow the same path they may but have never forced. Ellie :D

for me, the best way to teach kids to pray is to show them how to do it..... children learn best if they are engaged in the whole experience..... being able to pray with you, they will see how you do it and they will eventually copy you...thus, showing them the proper behavior during prayer time is a must... prayer is about relationship. it's building one. this time, it's creating a way to relate with God. so it must be special. children must be able to feel this way in their prayers. we have to teach them to express what their desires and wishes are in life. in their prayer, it is essential that we teach them that God is real and a relationship with him is possible. children must be able to conceive of God as someone who like them is a person to talk to.

you teach you kids to pray through brainwashing them

My children are all grown now and I didn't start praying regularly or really learn myself how to pray until they were grown but I have been teaching my grandchildren to pray by example, letting them see and hear me pray and sharing with them why I pray.

We have taught our kds how to pray using a variety of methods. First, is example. We let them hear how we pray. Second, we discuss what they are thankful for and/or need help/guidance with and then we whisper what their prayer could be in their ear and they say it out loud. After a few weeks, they have learned the "structure" of prayer and they can fill in the parts that are personal. In our beliefs, we do not use memorized prayers, so that has never been an issue, but if you were to use them, I would teach them line by line, maybe one line a week or so, once they ar old enough to memorize them.