My kids are no longer little! Where did time go? At the ages they are now (15, 17, & 20), bedtimes don’t look anything like they used to! No one is getting a bedtime story and needing to be tucked in anymore. As a matter of fact, most every night ends with us going to bed before them and sometimes, they tuck us in and turn out the light!
But given the opportunity to review this really cute book, “PJ Time”, gave me the chance to reminisce on the days when they were small and we would snuggle together to read a devotional or a bedtime story. Even as they grew older, each of them would do their own devotions. Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 Our hope and prayer as parents, is that they will continue those habits long after we aren’t tucking them in!
That is why I love this book and what the author has done. It’s one more chance to put God’s Word in front of our children. This book is the cutest! “PJ TIme” is a durable, hard cover book and the illustrations are so bright and colorful. I was immediately drawn to it as I turned the pages. There are 100 days of devotionals and each are meant to be short enough to keep the attention of 4-8 year old children.
Each day has a scripture reference and a short story. Each story has an exciting topic that will grab the child’s attention. The devotional ends with not only a prayer, but also questions and activities that will provoke conversation with your child and give real life applications.
As I held this book when it arrived, I may have shed a tear over the childhood of my own children that is long gone, I thought of two of my most favorite little boys. I knew that these two and their mommy could give me the best review ever!
I gave them the book and asked Mom to spend a few nights reading it to the boys, who’s ages are 2 & 5. She said that they loved it! The boys asked for the book every night. The question and answer part was a little over Cohen’s head, he’s 2, but the 5 year old especially liked that part!
Mom felt like each day’s devotional was a little too short. Here is where this may differ depending on the child. For these boys, they are accustomed to reading Bible stories each night, so Mom felt like it needed more content. The 5 year old, Case, asked for 2 devotions each night because it was too short for him.
Mom also felt like it was a little “light” on the Biblical aspect. “There is the scripture and pre-designed prayer, but the story portion is more of a generic little piece about an animal or something. A couple of times, Case would say, ‘Ok, now read the Bible to me.'” This is not terribly surprising to me, knowing this guy! He is very smart for his age and deeply aware of spiritual things. His desire to know God and His Word is something that not all children are doing at 5 years old.
Overall, it’s a two thumbs up from my house and theirs! It’s a great book, but depending on your child and their attention span and likes, it may be a supplement to your nightly routine instead of your entire devotion. Either way, if you have little ones in your home at bedtime, “PJ TIme” would be a great devotional to start them out with.
*Thanks to Frontgate Media for the book and the review opportunity!
