A friend of mine said her 16 month old came to the breakfast table bowed his head folded his hands and said something in his baby speak then started eating.  She said she guessed he was really hungry!

My oldest daughter used to slap her hands together and say “Amen!” when she wanted something to eat!

My three year old loves to sing-play.  She’ll actually having a running commentary of song to go along with what she is doing.  And the tune is ALWAYS “Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!” What a kid!

My little ones love singing/playing “Ring-Around-the-Rosary” . . .

Just a few days ago, my three year old son spent the entire day singing a song he learned at vacation Bible school. I didn’t know what to say when he sang to the checker at the grocery store: “He who believes in me, out of his heart, will flow rivers of living water...”

Anytime my 3-year old sees a cross, he says “Jesus is on the cross.”

My nine-year-old recently tried laying a guilt trip on me by saying that if I couldn’t give him what he wanted (a password) then he wasn’t sure he’d be able to be a priest.

Any container of water is a potential holy water font: bird baths, fountains, buckets left out to catch rain water from leaky roofs, puddles, unfinished glasses of water left around...you get the idea!

Accustomed to hearing the bells ringing during the Epiclesis (Consecration) at the Divine Liturgy - our now 3 year old comments that we should “Bow down, it’s Jesus!” when she hears bells ringing - Our priest’s comment on this was that our little one seems to understand what many adults do not...Christ’s Presence in the Holy Eucharist!

My 20 month old loves to “read” and walk around with the Bible, the Catechism and the Missal.  If he gets his hands on a rosary, he puts it around his neck.  He’s 110% little boy (big stinker!), but it makes me wonder if he’s getting it all out so he can be a priest one day.

My son, when he was about 2 or 3, used to parade around with his Bible (or any other book he happened to have on hand) held high over his head like Father does with the Book of Gospels as he brings it from the altar to the ambo before proclaiming the Gospel. 

He also used to stand atop his toddler jungle gym and sing Be Not Afraid, imitating the choir high in their loft.

Our oldest daughter, when she was three, very sweetly went around to each of the movers packing our house for our move to Okinawa and told them how Jesus was her King.  She would then, quiet seriously, ask them if Jesus was their King, too.

My six year old and eight year old were ahead of me at the supermarket and I could hear that they were arguing.  “Yes I can!” “No you can’t!” “YES I CAN!” When I caught up, my son complained loudly, “Mom, Lucy says I can’t be a martyr when I grow up! Tell her she’s wrong!”

Just two days ago my oldest daughter was “helping” my husband give my 4 year old and 18 month old daughters a bath. My husband turned his attention elsewhere for a few minutes only to discover that she had"baptized the other two with baby oil. Even after two days and 4 shampoos later we still are nice and slick

My, then 10yo son, was in trouble and screaming at me and I proceeded to tell him he was being a bad example to the younger children and possibly leading them to sin.  He opened his bedroom door and screamed “It’s not my fault, it’s Adam and Eve’s fault”!  Now, how do you argue with that one?

My 4 year old daughter picked out a new baby doll at Target on her birthday - which my 5 year old son promptly baptized in the car on the way home and declared - now you are a child of God!

Is there ANY Catholic kid who, while eating chips or crackers, doesn’t automatically hold it up and proclaim “The Body of Christ”?

Meeting a new person? Shake their hand and say “Peace”!

Tracy,
Wash their hair with Dawn (no generic) dish detergent. Also works for vaseline and chap stick and I think for peanutbutter.

These stories remind me of my first trip to an emergency room as a new mom. Our not-quite-2-yr-old sliced his hand on a blade at the sitter’s house and required 9 stitches. If you’ve ever had a similar experience, you know the most unsettling thing for a toddler is being strapped to the “papoose” --the board that holds the child immobile so the doctor can sew. My little guy was utterly terrified by that and shouted in panic, “Mama, sing Salve ‘Gina RIGHT NOW!” (This was our usual tuck-in song.) I felt a bit...supercatholicfragilistic if you know what I mean, but I had no choice but to sing a solo right in front of everyone because he would not calm down.  I would love to know what the doctor and nurse thought about a toddler demanding Latin chant in his time of woe.

On the way to the emergency room with my 4yo for his smashed finger he said, ‘Can we pray?  Can we pray hard the whole way?  Can you call Fr. Bill (uncle and Godfather) and ask him to pray too? Tell him to pray so much’

When baby #6 was a year old and learned to say Amen, she decided to put it good use. When she decided Father’s Homily was too long she called out Amen! When he didn’t stop talking he voice got louder and louder: Amen! Amen?!

I came across my daughter carting cups of water to her room, when asked why she needed all the water she replied: “Mom, I am baptizing my babies like baby Sarah” (her new 2 month old baby sister). So cute!

Our friends’ little boy, around age 3, was sent to time-out for some infraction or other and sat there on the steps crying, “Parce, Domine, parce populo” ("Spare, o Lord, spare your people")

Lydia (our 2.5 year old) followed the cat around the other day singing, “Bless the Hobbes, Bless the Hobbes...” and then began blessing (or really poking) him, “Father, Son, Holy Spirit.”

When my son was 4 he and his sisters were playing in the basement and it got very quiet.  So, my husband’s went downstairs and found my son, naked, spread out on the “cross”.  (it was Holy Week).  My husband calmly explained that “Jesus can wear underwear in our house” and made it all the way upstairs before he started laughing!

My children bless themselves and say a quick prayer when a siren is heard.  My son popped his head out of a ball pit at McD’s when he was 4 and yelled out the Sign of the Cross and the prayer I taught them, for all to hear!

Just today we got a Yoda doll in our Happy Meals.  When you press a button the doll says, “May the force be with you”.  The first time my 3 year old daughter heard the doll speak she responded, “And also with you”!!  Hilarious.

My 3 yr old son took my husbands bible the other day and said he was going to read stories about Jesus. I later hear him saying “...Jesus said to his disciples this is my body, and then Jesus said to his disciples this is my blood..” you get the picture. I was amazed that he had picked up the exact wording, who knew he can pay attention and cause us to wondering if he can sit still for 2 minutes all at the same time.

My 5 yo boy just saw a picture yesterday over on “Roman Catholic Vocations” blog of a boy playing priest & immediately asked me to make him an altar w/ all the sacred vessels. When we were set up (what to use for a pretend chalice??), he said, “but Mommy, I need a Gospel. Can I have your paper Missal?” which he promptly started reading. I was floored.

When my oldest was about 8 years old, my little boy and his friends found a dead bird.  They proceeded to dig a hole for it and bury the little creature, but as the kids were leaving my son said, “Hey, we have to pray!” He then proceeded to lead them through the Our Father, Hail Mary, and the Glory Be!

At preschool one day, four-year-old Sarah took her Dixie cup full of Cheese-Its around to each of her friends, intoning, “The Body of Christ… The Body of Christ.” ;

Many years ago, I used to love to listen to my daughter (now the mama of four) swinging on the swing in the backyard and singing “They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love”.  These days Glory and Praise songs embarrass them to tears, but, hey, it was the 80’s and their mama played bass in the church folk group.  How things change.