Lent is long and Lent is hard—especially for families with children spanning different ages and levels of spiritual maturity. You want to make Lent a time of spiritual growth for all the kids…and yourself!

As you can imagine: during all those years we’ve heard a lot from parents about what they do, what works for them, and how they focus their efforts for children of all ages and in families of varying sizes.

Here’s the advice we’ve received over the years from parents, grouped by the ages of the children best suited.

But first: Lent is about allowing the Holy Spirit to prepare your heart and soul and mind to renew your Baptismal Promises at Easter Mass, so everyone old enough should go to Confession! Here are our best suggestions for fruitful Confessions by age group:

• Littlest: our new “Confession pack” consisting of 3 items parents always ask for: (1) our “Remember 5 Things” Confession guide card; (2) 4 sheets to carry into the Confessional with “what to do” and space to write down your sins so you don’t forget (then destroy it afterward–HOORAY!); and (3) a fantastic little booklet to help your kids prepare for Confession.
  
• Teens & Adults: How to Make a Good Confession — clear, direct, and inspiring discussion of the Sacrament, concluding with a 17-page examination of conscience that is better than anything else we’ve seen.

And second: Here are our top 5 Ways to Pray the Stations of the Cross (especially with little kids) 

Now: parent suggestions by age

8 and under

• Lenten Adventure– is easy on Mom & Dad because everything is emailed daily to you throughout Lent. Kids-teaching-kids is mesmerizing, so let the Holy Heroes Adventure Guides teach your children through short videos, audio “pray-alongs,” and all sorts of printables which teach about Lent, Easter, and all sorts of things about the Catholic Faith.  It helps keep everyone focused day-by-day, with lots of activities suitable for the littles up to age 12 or so.  It’s free, it’s online, and you can let the kids manage it themselves (really—we hear that all the time!).  You can select what activities suit which children, and ignore the rest.  Register HERE.
  • Note: several years ago we were asked by many Moms to offer printed books of all the activities—saves the cost of printer ink and easier to preview. So, you can purchase sets of both the Lenten Adventure books (book #1 covers Ash Wednesday through Palm Sunday, and book #2 covers Holy Week through the Octave of Easter to Divine Mercy Sunday). Want to save some $$? Bulk discounts are automatically applied so get a few for friends!

• Lenten Road to Easter Roadmap– Here’s a great way to “countdown” while you also “crack the code” to reveal a secret message of joy and hope for your children. One roadmap comes with every Lenten Adventure book #1, but we also offer them in “family 5-packs” so no one has to share (great for classrooms, too).  STICKERS! Requested by moms with littles so it’s fun for them (every kids LOVES stickers!), and the stickers reveal a secret message–a question, in fact–which is intriguing for older kids.

9 – 12-year-olds

• Lenten Adventure—of course!

• Bi-lingual Stations of the Cross Prayer Booklet— this is a prayer booklet that will engage children (and adults!) in the Stations of the Cross. With beautiful images, descriptions, prayers, and the Stabat Mater, these are the perfect addition to any parish or family Friday Stations of the Cross!

• Clare’s Costly Cookie—a fantastic book for girls to teach them how to pray to Jesus as a friend, sharing all their joys, sufferings, and concerns. Our three youngest girls have loved this since it first came out several years ago. Highly recommended.

• My Path to Heaven—our entire family does this “retreat” each Lent (thanks to the recommendation of a mom at a conference!). Here’s a link to the blog post explaining how we do it.

• The Picture Bible—every child can “read the Bible” for Lent. The first Bible all our children read…and they read it cover-to-cover over and over again!  In our cleaning the past week, we found THREE copies of this Bible at home–one so used that the cover had fallen off! Recommended by Venerable Fulton Sheen, seminary professor Brant Pitre, and all the Holy Heroes Adventure Guides!

• The Works of Mercy: How God’s Love Transforms Your Heart—Lent is the perfect time to practice all the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, and this full-color booklet not only explains them all, but also provides ideas for how to implement them in your family and neighborhood (and there are pages for children to enter their own thoughts and plans, too).

Teens & Adults

• Catholicism 101 by Jeff Cavins–-Unique because it is NOT an apologetics smack-down on the rules of the Faith or the typical catechetical Scripture course usually offered for Lent. Instead, it is the big picture of our Faith, the components which transform this Lent from cramming facts into heads to explain/defend the Faith into a Lent focused on getting closer and closer in our personal relationship with a God Who loves each person and has a specific plan–a joyful plan!–for his or her life on earth before we go off to live in Heaven. A complete set is only 10 parts on CD or DVD, so you listen/view 1-2 each week of Lent, slowly contemplating the meaning of Conversion, the Mass, the Sacraments in our lives, the Bible, prayer–how, why, when–and much more. For grown-ups and those growing up (and FABULOUS for converts and reverts!).
• Stations of the Cross Posters–these stunning Stations of the Cross prints are both a lovely and solemn reminder for this liturgical season. Add these to your seasonal decor so your entire family will be able to meditate through Sacred Art on Jesus’ Passion and Death.

If you are still looking for more great Lenten suggestions, make sure you subscribe!