Guest Author - Terrie Lynn Bittner

The eighth birthday is a tremendous milestone for Latter-day Saint children. They have been preparing for this moment all their lives, and when they are baptized on or just after the birthday, the spotlight is entirely on them. The challenge is to make sure the children realize this isn't just a moment in the spotlight: it's their very first personal covenant.

It can help to begin preparing your child several months in advance. A special Family Home Evening might be a good way to introduce the meaning of baptism. In planning it, think of your child as a convert, preparing to join the church. What do you want this young convert to know before he is baptized? His age in no way diminishes the importance of this step. The age of eight was chosen because this is the age of accountability-the age when God knows a child is ready and able to make reasonably wise choices and to understand the consequences of decisions.

There are many resources available online to help you prepare your child. Visit LDS.org and click on Gospel Library. From here you can type in baptism, searching only the Friend, or you can check the lesson manuals for lessons on baptism. These can be the basis of Family Home Evening lessons. You might choose one story from the Friend to read to your child each night. Then punch holes in the pages you've printed out and put them in a binder for your child. By the time he is baptized, he will have a resource file on the subject of baptism.

Children often have unexpected ideas of what is and isn't a sin. Make sure your children really know what it means. When I was orienting children for baptism, I once ran into a child a few hours after her baptism. Teasingly, I asked her if she was still perfect. She thought seriously before asking, "That depends. Is it a sin to hit someone if it's only a brother?" After that, I always included cruelty to siblings in my list of unapproved activities when I prepared Primary children for baptism. Most children were surprised to find out there were no exceptions for siblings.

Take your children to as many baptisms as possible before his own. When I have taught seven-year-olds, many of them expressed nervousness about what would happen. You can also have the person who will be doing the baptism let the child practice the hold. Another aspect of baptism
that seems to frighten some children is the water. You might consider a course of swim lessons prior to the baptism if your child is afraid of water.

A final aspect of baptism that worries children is the interview. Most children have never had an interview with the bishop before. Our Primary had a baptism fireside last year for the children who were getting baptized in the coming year. We invited the bishop to explain what would happen in the interview-including the fact that it concluded with a dip into the bishop's famous candy jar. You might ask the bishop to tell you what will happen in the interview so that the information can be given to your child. Help him to understand that perfection is not required.

The most important thing you can do to help your child prepare for baptism is to spend time talking to him about it. Let him tell you his feelings, his fears, his joys and accept them all. Let himbe a part of the plan, so that the day is personal to him. This is one of the most important days of his life and one he will always remember. I like to tell children that the decision to be baptized is the child's very first grown-up decision and so it is a very important one. I encourage them to think hard about the choice, so that it really is a decision. As you help your child to prepare, you help your child to know that this is his own choice.