AS A PARENT, I've found that sometimes the simplest rountines to remind my children of their spiritual nature can have a profound effect on their lives.

From the time our two boys were toddlers, our favorite bedtime activity has been to do their "ABCs"—that is, the "Cody ABCs" or the "Denny ABCs." Letter by letter we go through the alphabet and name specific spiritual qualities. As they've grown, the boys have had fun contributing to an ever-evolving list. Now they have a mental dictionary full of qualities and attributes that they know are true about them.

We've talked about how intelligence comes straight from God, Mind. Or creativity, from Soul. In fact, anything good can be linked back to a name for God in Christian Science—God who is Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, and Love (see Science and Health, p. 587). It's natural then to relate these qualities to everyday life. For instance, "It's time for chores!" is a little easier for them to respond to when they identify with being diligent, conscientious, hardworking.

This sweet activity is so simple and satisfying. Constantly identifying each boy's good qualities has given them the gift of understanding themselves spiritually. I've found both parent and child can bathe in this spiritual sense of identity and not only feel closer to each other, but also closer to God. It's a beautiful form of prayer.

In Science and Health Mary Baker Eddy wrote, "In Science we are children of God; but whatever is of material sense, or mortal, belongs not to His children, for materiality is the inverted image of spirituality" (p. 572). There really is no better antidote for materiality than a very solid, practiced sense of true spirituality. The more we impart to our kids who they are as children of God, the easier it is for them to shake free from limiting labels or negative influences.

One of our boys always impressed us with his natural, wholehearted goodness. ("G" on his list often defaults to good!) So we were taken aback when it began to dawn on us that he was undeniably telling small, white lies. We had noticed that one of his friends, who is a nice boy, had made a habit of this, and that it was apparently rubbing off.

Initially my husband and I thought, "Oh, this is a phase. It will pass." But then we quickly woke up and realized that we didn't need to accept this about our son, because we knew it wasn't his true spiritual nature. In fact, it was easy for us to see that it wasn't the true nature of either boy. But as the behavior persisted, we knew something had to change. And it had to begin in our own thinking.

We started by thinking about what keeps our home and children free from a bad influence. Science and Health refers to "the supporting influence and protecting power bestowed on man by his heavenly Father, omnipotent Mind, who gives man faith and understanding whereby to defend himself, not only from temptation, but from bodily suffering" (p. 387). There is no counterweight to this divine influence governing our thinking and actions. The allness and onlyness of God, who is good alone, means that there's no source from which a bad influence could come. The good expressed when our son and his friend got together—the laughter, resourcefulness, freedom, and love—was all from God, and it was naturally free from any bad influence because God was at every moment influencing their thoughts overwhelmingly for good.

We sat down with our son and talked about what had been happening, and said we knew this behavior wasn't like him at all. Those ABCs came into play, as we reminded him that he was naturally honest and good. He was always free and able to do what he knew was right. We added that it might seem fun to tell a little lie, but that—guess what?—it makes it hard for people to rely on what you say and hard for people to trust you. He knew immediately what we were talking about and was able to articulate that he wanted to be honest and trustworthy.

Was this the last reminder we gave him? No. The fibs didn't vanish overnight, but soon he was in the clear. And until this friend's family moved away, we saw this tendency steadily diminish in his friend as well.

Now when we do the "ABCs" and get to H or T, our son can say, "Honest!" or "Trustworthy!" without even a memory of that time. css