Joined: Dec 11 2008 Posts: 1659 Location: a stone's throw from Ramallah
Posted: Sun, Jan 04 2009, 6:32 am Post subject: teaching brachot
Hi,
My oldest is 2 1/2. She knows the pasuk of shema and bits of modeh ani and hamalach. I'm trying to work on brachot with her too but not sure the best way to do it. I've tried saying the whole thing with her but she loses attention. Is skipping the beginning (baruch ata...) and just saying "al netilat yadayim" or "shehakol nihiye b'dvaro" enough?
what have other people done?
thanks
Well, my almost 3 year old DS is nowhere near verbal enough for brachot. For now we're working on "amen"...so we say the bracha and he says "amen" and gets the zchut of the bracha. We still sing Shema & Modeh Ani (and a bunch of other things) with him, but we're not expecting him to do much more than enjoy it. He DOES expect it now, so we figured we're moving in the right direction. _________________ Emmanuel Tzvi: 26 Shevat 5766
Shai Michael: 8 Cheshvan 5768
Yitzchak Meir: 19 Iyar 5770
Dvir Aharon: 10 Tammuz 5772
You are supposed to teach how to make a proper bracha (with all the words, including Hashem's name) when a child is verbal enough to say one. Of course they won't be able to say the whole thing at the beginning - that's why you're teaching them. It's not good to start with half brochos, saying Hashem etc, because it just confuses them. _________________ "The problem begins with... their political hangers oners... such as Anat Hoffman. She is a davener like I am a chinese belly dancer." (FS)
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shalhevet I don't know if everyone holds from that- because of childrens tendency to say hashems name in the wrong places and at the wrong time. I know in my family we didn't teach the kids brachos at all when they were so small.
My almost three yr old dd learned Brochos by us saying it with her before she ate anything. She knows them all although not which ones to use correctly.
It is like teaching them a song repeat enough they learn.
Joined: Dec 16 2007 Posts: 14804 Location: Reporting for doody
Posted: Sun, Jan 04 2009, 2:12 pm Post subject:
I start slowly with baruch ata...amen then keep adding one word every time the kid is really fluent. Make your brachos outloud so she can hear them and learn to repeat one day... _________________ Sunday social program forming in Brooklyn for children with social delays. Pm me for more info
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my ds is 2 1/2 and "davens" and says brachos...it's so cute. He takes a bunch of different brachos mashes them together and then at the end says AMEN! It's too cute. We just say them with him, or with our own food, figuring he'll pick them up, but we're not stressing, he's delayed with speech, so we feel he's doing great so far. _________________ Just Plain Frum!
Joined: Feb 28 2007 Age: 44 Posts: 775 Location: Georgia
Posted: Tue, Jan 06 2009, 4:21 am Post subject: re: teaching brachot
My 2-1/2-year-old (who was adopted from Ethiopia 8 months ago!) says her food brachos and a few others clear as a bell. Just lots of repetition. In the beginning we would say every one for her one word at a time. Now she knows the first half, and can say the second half if she is told which one to say. So now I just talk about whether our food came from etz or adamah or whatever, then say the second half of the bracha, then prompt "Baruch..." and "borei" (or whichever). Sometimes I can say "etz" and she'll do the whole thing. After she says a bracha we just say "yay!" instead of "amen" since we don't think she entirely understands the concept yet. Our 3-1/2-year-old can do them all once he figures out he figures out which bracha it is, and then we do say "amen" because he knows why we're doing it. I have not heard any of my kids (ages 5, 3, 2, and 1) use hashem's name when not appropriate. I think it's just by osmosis.
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It's not good to start with half brochos, saying Hashem etc, because it just confuses them.
