10 Things Every Child Needs to Know

There’s so much we want to teach our kids. It can be overwhelming! But here are the 10 things that every child needs to know!

I’ll never forget lying there in the hospital bed with her plastic crib as close as possible. She slept there so quiet and still, as though she didn’t even know she had been born into this amazing world. In the dark of that first night, a thousand thoughts filled my head. I was in awe at the marvelous creation of human life. I was thankful for what we had endured.

But most of all, I felt an incredible sense of responsibility … and fear. Here I was not even 27 years old, and God had trusted me with this precious life. Even though I had read at least 50 parenting books, I knew I was vastly unprepared for the course that lay ahead of me.

What would she need to know? How would I prepare her for life in this wretched world?

Maybe you’ve been there, too. Maybe you are like me and find that, over a decade later, you still feel the weight of this incredible responsibility God has given us.

One thing I have learned since that first night is that while the responsibility is indeed great, if I stay close to God, He will guide my every step. I’ve learned that there are millions of little things and hundreds of huge things she needs to know. But what I’ve really learned is that I need to be very intentional in the teaching.

I’ve learned that if I am not intentional in teaching my children everything that God desires for them, someone else is going to teach them all of the things that He does not. And that is not only sobering; it’s downright scary. It motivates me to be very intentional with this teaching thing, but it also presents a big question.

What do they need to know? What are those super important pillars upon which they will build their lives? I couldn’t even pretend to have all the answers to such a deep question, but I have learned that there are some very specific things God has outlined for us to teach them.

10 Things Every Child Needs to Know

1. Prayer is what keeps you breathing.

I Thessalonians 5:17 reminds us to pray continually—without ceasing. It truly is our breath of life. Without being able to talk to God, this life would be ever so difficult to navigate.

One way to teach children to have a better prayer life is to go beyond the standard rote prayers and use something like these prayer cards or this Bible study about prayer.

2. Everyone needs grace, and Jesus died to give it to us.

Ephesians 4:7 says that every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. This is a very good thing for us, as we would never be able to earn this on our own. We must remember that God has extended this same grace to others just as much as He has to us.

One resource that has transformed my parenting is Give Them Grace. It’s an honest look at how guilty we are as parents of not extending grace to our children when they mess up.

3. Character is how we show others that we’ve given God our life.

1 Timothy 4:12 reminds our children to set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Of course, our lives also set an example for the rest of the world, too. As the old song says, “We are a sermon in shoes.”

Teaching character can be a challenge when you have a particularly rebellious child. Find ideas for pointing a rebellious child to truth here.

4. If you want to be great, learn to be a servant.

Matthew 20:26 reminds us of this great truth. Those who desire to be great must be servants. Jesus came to this world to serve, and our goal in life should be to have the same humility and servant’s heart that He had. It’s contrary to what the world teaches about greatness, but it’s the only way to truly live. To encourage your child, Becoming a Servant is our new family Bible study focused on Jesus’ call for every Christian to serve.

Whether it’s serving our siblings or grandparents or helping a neighbor in need, there are innumerable ways that we can teach our kids to serve the people around them. If you’d like a little help with practically teaching your kids about serving others, click the image below for my free Random Acts of Kindness printable!

5. The Bible has all of the answers to every single problem.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says that all scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. If we have a problem, God has an answer. We don’t need anything else!

We have created both fun and deeply meaningful Bible studies that teach kids how to study God’s Word on their own. You can visit our online store to find out more about all of the resources we offer.

Another amazing resource to help your kids know what God has to say about the important things in life is our My God Says Bundle!

Every day our kids decide to either believe what the world tells them about themselves or what God tells them about themselves in relation to Him. If they start to believe the lies of the world, it’s tempting to become dissatisfied with who they are or be confused about their worth and purpose. The My God Says Bundle gives your kids the truth they need to stand steadily in this world of ever-changing “truth”.

6. Daily study of God’s Word will keep you from falling.

Knowing God’s Word has the answers is only the first step. Psalm 119:11 tells us that if we hide it in our hearts (memorize it and think on it often), it will keep us from falling into sin.

We’ve created a 30-card set of Scripture Memory Cards that encourage kids to memorize scripture. There are 3 age levels so that everyone can memorize together at their own level.

7. Obedience shows that you believe God and that you love Him.

1 John 5:3 says that if we love God, we will obey His commands. We like to make this simple truth more complex than it really is, as we don’t enjoy thinking about the fact that our disobedience shows a lack of love. But it’s true. If we really love God, we will obey.

Our family has been challenged in HUGE ways by this obedience Bible study that I wrote to help children want to obey both God and the other authorities God has placed over them.

8. God has a very specific design for sex.

In Hebrews 13:4, God commands us to hold marriage in honor among all and to keep the marriage bed undefiled. Of course, marital purity starts long before our children get ready to walk down the aisle. We need to be ready to combat the lies that the world is constantly feeding them about sex, sexuality, lust, desire, and purity.

The Talk is my absolute favorite resource for this. It’s been a huge help in guiding the discussion with my kids regarding God’s true design for sex.

9. If we are thankful in everything, our hearts will have true peace.

Philippians 4:6-7 are possibly the most rehearsed verses in our house. We must constantly remind ourselves that God calls us to constant thanksgiving in every circumstance we are given, and He promises that this thanksgiving will guard our hearts with the peace of Christ Jesus. What a blessing!

We’ve been really enjoying this hymn study in our home over the past few weeks. Appropriate for the fall (or any time of the year!) it reminds us, through the study of hymns and Scripture, that we are so abundantly blessed.

10. What you say really matters.

Proverbs 18:21 might be among the most convicting verses in the Bible, as it reminds us that EVERY single word we utter either speaks death or life. This is also possibly one of the hardest things to deal with when it comes to parenting. Every single day we say hundreds of careless words, especially if we are home together all day.

I wrote a Bible study called Fruit of the Tongue that teaches kids about the power of our words. Such an important lesson for us to learn! You can find out about this study by clicking the image below to visit our store.

I’d love to hear your thoughts! What other key truths do you want your kids to learn? Share with us in the comments.