I HAVE begun to sing a new meal song with Little R a month ago, when I realized that he was not serious about “thanking God” for his meals anymore with the “old prayer.” He would recite his snack meal rhyme that I adopted from what they were using at his nursery school H so habitually that I didn’t think that he had quite understood the lyrics and what to thank God for.
So, I made up the following lyrics in the simplest tune (“Are You Sleepy?”):
Thank you Father, thank you Father
For our food, for our food
Thank you Jesus, thank you Jesus
For Your love, for Your love
This song is so easy to remember and sing that my husband learned how to sing it instantly and I would never forget its lyrics myself 
.
Instantly, after singing it for several times, Little R started to join in in trials and errors, trying to make sense out of it. First, he struggled with when to sing “our” as in “for our food,” and when to sing “your” as in “for your love.” He would mix up the two sometimes.
Then, it is until recently, I noticed that he had “understood” the meaning of this meal song when I heard him singing:
Thank you Father, thank you MOTHER
For our food, for our food
Etc.
O Yes! Little R! Thank you for remembering mommy and thanking me for your food, as you have probably been wondering why just thank “father” and not “mother” as well? That would only be logical to you!
(at 4 years 2 months)
rockamama
