How Do You Explain the Easter Story to Young Kids?
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All holidays are exciting, especially for young kids. But there’s something about Easter that just fills you up with joy. From Easter egg hunts and chocolate bunnies, to marching around the church waving a palm branch, there’s plenty of excitement to keep kids engaged this season. But Easter, specifically resurrection Sunday, is perhaps the holiest holiday in the Christian calendar. It’s good to have fun at this time, but there’s a very important story that goes along with it.
Depending on how old and mature your child is, the deeper parts of this story – that Jesus paid the price for our sin so that we can have eternal life – may go right over their heads. By all means talk about that with them! But for little ones, I think it’s important enough that they know Jesus died, he came back to life, and he did it all because he loves them.
As Ecclesiastes 3 reminds us, for everything there is a season. Don’t shy away from the sad parts of the story with your preschooler, but don’t forget to celebrate the joy that comes in the morning as well.
Do: Make it relatable for them
Don’t: Compare it to a fairytale or comic book
I’m not a parent, but I imagine one of the hardest things about explaining this story must be convincing your media-focused kiddos that this story is real.
I’m a huge fantasy lover, so I know that you’d be hard-pressed to find a fantasy story out there that doesn’t include some form of resurrection. Harry Potter, Gandalf, Captain America and half the characters in “Star Wars” go through some sort of resurrection. It’s such a common theme because it’s so incredible! There’s another article to be written about why we love this trope in stories so much, but the bottom line is that all of those stories are imaginary. They are all based on the one true story.
Jesus’ resurrection is the only one that is true. Drive this home with your little ones, and maybe talk about where they’ve seen this idea elsewhere, but don’t be tempted to compare Jesus’ resurrection to a fictional story. This article explains that children are able to start telling the difference between reality and fantasy between ages 3 and 5. So depending on your kid’s age, this may still be a hard concept for them. But you can still talk about it together. Maybe your conversation will look something like this:
“Is Captain America real? No he’s just someone pretend that we watch on TV. He’s really cool, but did he really come back to life? No, that was just a pretend story. What about Jesus? Was Jesus a real person like you and me? Yes He was! How do you know? Because the Bible says so, and the Bible is God’s Word. Did Jesus really come back to life after He died on the cross? Yes he did! Isn’t that amazing? And he did it because he loves (child’s name) SO much!”
Do: Look for helpful resources for kids
Don’t: Read them the story from an adult Bible
Don’t jump on my back over this just yet! You can and should read the adult Bible to your kids. All I’m saying is that the Easter story takes up several chapters in the Gospels, and I can guarantee your 4-year-old is going to zone out after 4 verses, max. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read it to them anyway.
BUT.
There are great children’s Bibles and storybooks out there that are designed to capture a child’s attention and make the story stick. It isn’t just about entertaining them, it’s about getting the truth of God’s word to stay in their minds, and hopefully their hearts. Look out for a good book you can share with them this season (may I suggest the Jesus Storybook Bible?)
Likewise, talk to your church’s children’s minister or Sunday school teacher. I teach preschool Sunday school, and we have so many resources we can share with parents to reinforce the lessons we teach. There are coloring pages, activities, memory verses and songs that will all help these important stories to stick with them. (Raise your hand if you grew up in church and can still sing those repetitive Sunday school songs!)
So parents and caregivers, if you are worried about explaining Easter to your little ones this year, try not to stress. You’ve got this! Take a deep breath, pray about it, and just talk to your child the way you normally do. Be honest, make it relatable for them, and have fun! Easter is an incredible time of the year to celebrate Jesus!
More from this author
Why Does Jesus Rebuke His Terrified Disciples in the Storm?
Who Is God to You?
Does God Keep Things from Us?
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Bethany Pyle is the editor for Bible Study Tools.com and the design editor for Crosscards.com. She has a background in journalism and a degree in English from Christopher Newport University. When not editing for Salem, she enjoys good fiction and better coffee.