How to Do Eucharistic Adoration with Kids

The Eucharist is the source and summit of our Christian life. At every Mass, Jesus Himself is present, filling our hearts with His grace, peace, and strength as we worship Him. During Eucharistic Adoration, our King is right before our eyes, humbly giving Himself, awaiting to love us and to be loved by us.

Why Eucharistic Adoration Matters

Devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist is very powerful. It leads our hearts to silence, and to a greater intimacy with the Lord. In this Sacrament, we come to know how He loves us. Here we receive the rays of His grace; we pray to repair His Sacred Heart from the damage caused by our sins and the sins of the world; we thank Him for His goodness and place our needs upon Him. 

“Eucharist is the sum and summary of our faith: 'Our way of thinking is attuned to the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn confirms our way of thinking.' [St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 4, 18, 5: PG 7/l, 1028.]" CCC 1327

Bringing our Children to Eucharistic Adoration

So, yes, Adoration to the Blessed Sacrament is very important for our souls. We place ourselves in front of the Son to make our hearts available to His infinite love and mercy. 

As parents, the influence we have on our children is immense, but at the same time limited. It is Jesus who will be by their side when we are away, it is He who promised to be with them (and with us) always even to the end of times (Mathew 28:20). So, let’s start cultivating this beautiful, everlasting friendship with Him in our Kids hearts!

How to Do Eucharistic Adoration with Children

Eucharistic Adoration looks very different with small children (or teens), that when you are one-on-one in the chapel with the Lord. Be open to the Lord’s particular way of approaching your family.

This may vary depending on the age of your children, the season of life you are in, and of course, the rules/schedules of your parish. But the most important thing is your “Fiat”. Let Him and our Blessed Mother do the rest.

Here are some ideas to get you started!

Adoration with Babies 

When you have a newborn, you need all the strength and extra grace possible, and the Lord wants to give it to you. If you only have 5 or 10 minutes for Jesus, stop by the chapel with your baby and give this time to Him. Rest in the silence. Let Him refill your cup and do it again when you need it. It will be worth it! 

Adoration with Toddlers and Preschoolers

This is perhaps the trickiest stage of all and where many moms decide to wait to go to Adoration or push pause. 

Over the years, I have learned that we will have beautiful prayer moments together and there will also be days where things won't go, mhmh, well. But we keep coming to the Lord.

I have learned to be flexible. Depending on how the kids are doing we could stay 10, 15 or 30 minutes.

I usually give my youngest son a light snack before coming into the chapel and we bring a bag with different books, crayons, and coloring books. 

When our kids were little, a friend invited me to Eucharistic Adoration for the first time. We would spend 10-15 minutes all together, and right by the end, my friend and I would take turns to have our personal prayer time with the Lord. It was a beautiful experience. If you have the opportunity of doing this, take it!

And of course, there are many wonderful resources out there that can help us to keep our youngest ones at bay. We are loving:

1. Trace your Faith Catholic Scratch Art Books / Epiphany Catholic Co
2. Water Reveal Cards / Shining Light Dolls
3. Felt Mass Set / Saintly Heart
4. "My First Intereactive Mass Book" by Jennifer Sharpe
   

Adoration with Elementary Kids

Our Eucharistic Adoration weekly dynamic has evolved as our children get older. One of the things that has helped our older kids grow in reverence and love to the Blessed Sacrament is to read, listen to podcasts and watch videos about Eucharistic Miracles. You can introduce the topic little by little, depending on the maturity of your children.

Here are some resources we love for this age group:

1. Bl. Carlo Acutis Eucharistic Miracles website
2. "Heavenly Hosts: Eucharistis Miracles for Kids" by Kathryn Griffin Swegart OFS
3. "The Mass Unit Study" is great to prepare your family for both Mass and Eucharistic Adoration. 

Journals, Saint bios, and Catholic coloring books of their preference are also a great companion. 

Our Adoration time with kids this this age usually lasts from 30 minutes to 1 hour. 

Adoration with Tweens and Teens

Tweens and teens usually want to feel "in charge" of their faith formation. And that is perfectly normal and (at times) beautiful. We are reaching this stage with our oldest son. 

So, this year I am planning to present him "A Light and A Lamp Lectio Divina Journal for Kids".  We have been doing Scripture reading for a few years now, so I look forward to giving him this amazing tool to pray with Scripture independently.

Going to the Eucharist in this season of our children's life can be instrumental to help them discern their future. So, let's give them the amazing opportunity of strengthening the pillar of their faith. 

Adoration time with tweens and teens may vary. Pray on it and find what works for your family.

Let the Love Reign 

If you feel called to bring your children to Him, go for it. Ask in your parish if they have Adoration for kids or plan to come weekly to visit with Jesus during Adoration hours. Open wide the doors for His Love to reign in your family!

"The Greatest Love Story of all time is contained in a tiny white host"

-Venerable Fulton Sheen.

 

Do you go to Eucharistic Adoration with your kids? Share with us some ideas on what has worked well for your family.

Ready to dive deeper? 

Here are 4 ways to fill your nets... 

 1. Memorize Bible verses with your children easily with our FREE guide: Stocking the Storehouses

 2. Make your dreams of family prayer a reality with The Daily Feast framework, making it possible in just a few minutes a day. This free guide shows you how.

 3. Want to steward your own prayer life? Check out this Scripture prayer journal we made just for you.

 4. Looking to level-up in your family faith formation? Join over 10,000 families that use our resources. We make open-and-go, family-style resources to make your role as primary catechist easy AND delightful. Click here to browse!