Use the information on this page to teach your children what matters most. Included in this section:

• What makes our conversations with our children so important
• How to open the conversation with our children
• Things to do as a family to grow in faith
• How to 'Disconnect to Reconnect' as a family

Do you want to learn more about how to have Great Conversations with your children? Join us for on of our upcoming presentations listed on our Events page: /events

Is technology a challenge for your family? Check out our page with resources on how to manage technology as a family: /technology

How do you help your kids make good decisions?
How do you talk to them about faith and God?

Parents are the first teachers of their children and the Archdiocese of Seattle’s Office of Marriage and Family Life is committed to helping parents form their children in the faith. Use the guidance on this page to :

1. Make space for God, especially at dinnertime, bedtime and on Sundays
2. Repent or renew our relationship with God who reaches out to us through His son Jesus
3. Teach our children that they are a child of God and find their identity in their relationship with Jesus
4. Form community with neighbors, family and the Church

Below you will find practical advice that will draw your family closer to God and to one another.

In the groundbreaking study Ask Your Father and He Will Tell You: A Report on American Catholic Religous Parenting the University of Notre Dame and scholars Justin Bartkus and Christian Smith found that "Of all actors, it is parents who exert overwhelmingly the greatest influence upon the eventual religous view and commitments of American children." In other words, your voice matters! As parents, we can help our children grow in their relationship with God. We just need to act. 

"The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart!" Romans 10:8

Parents, if you have been able to participate in one of our Great Conversations presentations you will have learned that you have the opportunity to really help your children develop a stronger relationship with Jesus and His Church. The questions below provide a helpful way to get the conversation started. They don't require a degree in Theology, but they open the door to speakng with our children about how God is at work in our lives.

Use the questions below to start a conversation with your child. First, answer the question yourself. Then, then ask your child to share their answers.

What is something about you that is a gift from God to you? (I am tall, I have a strong voice, etc.)

What is something about you that is a gift from you to God? (I study, I practice singing, I am friendly to everyone in school.)

Have you ever really wanted something and thought: “If I can just have this, I won’t need
anything else”? Then you get it and you still feel like you need something more? Why do you think that happened?

Talk about a time that you gave up something you really wanted for God. Why did you do it? What happened? How did it feel at first? How did it feel later?

If you are married, talk about how you met your spouse. What about them made you think they would be a good person to marry? Ask your child what kind of person they would want to marry.

Tell about a time you had to learn to make better decisions. How did you do it?

Below is a list of things that families have found helpful in growing closer to God and one another. Make them new habits!

• Go to Mass as a family
• Pray before bedtime
• Eat dinner together
• (without screens)
• Say grace before meals
• Go to reconciliation as a family
• Turn screens off one hour before bedtime
• Keep phones and tablets out of bedrooms overnight

Setting healthy expectations for technology

The video above, featuring our CYO Camps Director, Shaune Randles, describes some of the great things that happen when we help our children disconnect from technology use in order to reconnect with God, family, friends and community. If we parents set the following boundaries in our homes (and observe them ourselves) we will see the fruit in stronger relationships within our families.

1. No screens at the dinner table - that space is reserved for family conversation
2. No screens 1 hour before dinnertime - kids need time to unwind and process the day without electronics
3. No screens in the bedroom overnight - don't let technology compete with the rest our children need

Be strong sometimes children get upset when we set limits on their technology use. Sometimes they get really upset. That's OK. As parents we have to be strong so our children can grow strong, even if they don't appreciate it at the time, they will appreciate it later. In the meantime, remind them that they do not own a phone or a tablet, we do. Their use of that piece of equipment happens only when we see that using it helps them grow into a better person. 

Does your family need to reset expectations around technology? Any time can be a good time to put healthy expectations into place. However, a particularly convenient time is after our children return from the experience of CYO Camp. These camps are a great opportunity for our children to grow in our beautiful outdoors and they are technology free! When your children return home from camp, they will have spent almost a week without technology and will be ready for a reset. Check out the CYO Camp website to learn more and sign up for camp!