Picking from so many kid-friendly family devotional ideas has been a work in progress for us over the years. Finding a devotional that is age-appropriate, engaging, and stays true to teaching them about the love of Jesus has taken time—and a lot of trial and error.
This list features our tried-and-true favorite family devotional resources that we’ve used with our kids (currently ages 12, 10, 7, and 5). Some of these we’ve read aloud as a family, while others the kids read independently, followed by some sweet discussions with us.
What makes this post unique is that my 10-year-old daughter gave her thoughts on each one (you can read the transcript at the bottom)—what she liked, what stood out, and why she recommends it.
So if you’re hoping to invite your kids into a daily rhythm of worship and help them grow in faith, this is a must-read post.
Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
The Best Daily Kid-Friendly Family Devotional Ideas (Reviewed by a 10-Year-Old!)
Why You Should Do a Family Devotional
If you’re looking up this topic, you probably already know its importance. But I just wanted to encourage you that if you start now with small habits, you are building a lifetime discipline for your kids. Even when it seems hard or the actions seem small, these are seeds you are planting in your kids’ lives.
You can start a routine of daily family devotionals with the right tools in place. Between modeling this behavior yourself and using ideas from the habit loop to encourage it, you can point your kids to the truth daily and have easy, built-in connection points to talk to your kids and see their hearts!
How to Actually Do a Family Devotional
We’ve found success with two main ways of building devotions into our routine:
1. Bedtime Devotions
At night, we read a short story and talk about it as a family. This takes no more than 15 minutes and creates a “drip, drip, drip” effect where the truth slowly sinks in. We don’t do it every night (I mean, hello, kid’s sports) but as often as we can!
2. Morning Quiet Time
In the mornings, our kids read for 10 minutes when they come downstairs—either a Bible or devotional book of their choice. My husband or I check in with each child and ask what they learned or how they think God might be speaking to them.
While this second method isn’t your “traditional” family devotional, it still accomplishes the main goal: helping our kids grow in their relationship with Jesus and inviting conversation.
5 of Our Favorite Children’s Devotional Books
1. The Child’s Story Bible
Why we love it:
While not a traditional devotional, it allows for daily reading and brings Bible stories to life in an accessible, illustrated format.
What my daughter said:
“The Children’s Bible is way easier to understand than the real Bible, especially the Old Testament. It explains everything in a story format—like when Moses puts his staff above his head. It also has illustrations, so I thought that was kind of cool.”
Key Features:
- Easier to understand than the standard Bible, especially the Old Testament
- Chapter-based organization focused on specific journeys or stories
- Includes illustrations that enhance understanding
- Presents biblical stories in a more accessible format for younger readers
She often compares what she reads in this to her ESV and NLT Bibles and loves how it helps the stories make more sense.
2. Love Does for Kids by Bob Goff
Why we love it:
Love Does for Kids is not structured like a daily devotional (like my favorite for adults or this favorite of teens I know), but it’s packed with inspiring, relatable stories that connect to Jesus’ love in everyday life. Even I tear up reading some of them!
What my daughter said:
“He’s talking about things that happened to him or his family—and how that applies to Jesus. One story was about adopting ducks that someone never picked up from the post office. He said it’s like Jesus—how He welcomes everybody, and we trust Him, so we stay close to Him.”
Key Features:
- Collection of personal stories from Bob Goff and his family
- Each story connects to spiritual lessons about Jesus
- Engaging storytelling that keeps kids’ attention
- Example: story about adopting unclaimed ducks from the post office, illustrating how Jesus welcomes everyone
We often read this at night, and it’s a favorite for independent morning reading, especially for ages 5–10.
3. The Action Bible: God’s Redemptive Story
Why we love it:
We got this for our comic-loving son and it’s been a hit ever since. It’s visually engaging while still true to the biblical storylines.
What my daughter said:
“It has speech bubbles so you can tell who’s talking. Like in the story of Moses and the plagues, you could see all the frogs and what was happening. It’s like the Bible, but it helps kids who don’t like long stories or just love comics.”
Key Features:
- Comic book format with speech bubbles and illustrations
- Easier to follow who’s speaking in biblical narratives
- Maintains accuracy to biblical stories while presenting them visually
- Example: Moses calling plagues upon Egypt, with visual representation of frogs and other plagues
This one isn’t used as often for family devotions, but it’s always being read during quiet time or bedtime. I was originally going to buy it at a local bookstore but found it for half the price on Amazon! This is great for kids who learn better visually.
4. Indescribable: 100 Devotions About God and Science by Louie Giglio
Why we love it:
Quick to read, packed with fascinating science facts, and beautifully ties creation to the Creator. A favorite morning devotional in our house.
What my daughter said:
“Every two pages has a topic, like the sun. It talks about how hot the sun is and how it’s the center of the solar system—just like God is at the center of everything. Even if we can’t see Him, like at night, He’s still there. You learn facts and about God!”
Key Features:
- Two-page devotional format with a new topic each time
- Combines scientific facts with spiritual lessons
- Uses natural phenomena to illustrate God’s character
- Example: the sun’s role in our solar system compared to how God watches over people
This was a morning devotional favorite for our 7-year-old last year—and we’ll keep using it for the younger kids too!
5. NLT Student Life Application Study Bible
Why we love it:
While I prefer the ESV translation for my own study, we’ve found the NLT works best for kids because of its clarity and helpful features. There are pros and cons to all of the different translations, but this is what we’ve loved!
What my daughter said:
“It’s not as confusing as I thought. There are notes everywhere. And it has this cool thing like a selfie interview, where someone like Esther answers questions about her story. Like, ‘God made me beautiful so the king would love me, and I could save all the Jews.'”
Key Features:
- Described as less confusing than expected
- Includes explanatory notes throughout
- Contains “selfie” interview-style sections with biblical characters
- Example: Esther “answering” questions about her role in saving the Jewish people
This is a great Bible for kids transitioning into deeper study.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some good devotion topics for kids?
It depends on the age and season. Character traits like kindness, courage, and forgiveness are always great. Not ready for books yet? Check out free videos from The Bible Project to kick off meaningful conversations.
How do you do daily devotions as a family?
Anchor devotions to an existing routine—breakfast, bedtime, or the ride to school. Keep it short and consistent:
- Start with a short prayer
- Read together or independently
- Ask one simple question: “What stood out to you?”
- Close with prayer or blessing
What’s a good short devotional for kids?
Indescribable is my top recommendation for short, effective devotions. You can also have kids read one or two chapters of Scripture and then talk about it with you.
When should I start family devotions?
It’s never too early! We started around preschool age with Advent calendars and activity-based books. Start small, keep it light, and let the habit grow. They are habits that will last a lifetime.
Where do you keep your devotionals?
We keep them all in a little “library” in our living room—easy for the kids to access during quiet time or just when they’re curious.
Other Posts You Might Like from Simplified Motherhood
- The Best Morning Routines for Moms Who Want Peace and Purpose
- How to Use the Pomodoro Technique to Plan Your Day (including your devotional time)
- 110 Mini-Habits to Track to Improve Your Life
- Best Tips for a Peaceful Evening Routine For Moms
The Real Review of These Devotionals from My 10 Year Old
If you’re wondering I did edit some of the review from my daughter to make them more readable, but if you’d like, here’s the recorded transcript of our conversation unedited!
“Since you made it this far, here’s a copy of the real world transcript that I recorded of my daughter sharing about each of the books!
“Okay, we’re going to talk about the books that we, the devotional books that we have in the house, which are, what were they again? It’s the Children’s Bible. The Action Bible, the Love Does for Kids by Bod Goff, the, um…
Your irresistible one, the one that Owen read, and then maybe your regular Bibles. So you were talking about why you liked… Zoe was talking about why she liked the children’s Bible. Do you want to say… So, um, yeah.
The children’s bible is like way easier to understand than the real bible, because the real bible, it seems a little jumbled up to me, especially like the old testament. So, the children’s bible, like, explains everything. It has a bunch of chapters, instead of, like, kind of like the sections in the book, but it’s just talking about, like, this one journey they made during, while they were with Moses for this.
One reason why… Whatever. And then it also has, like, illustrations to it. So I thought that was kind of cool. So it has, like, um… Moses putting his staff above… Tell me, just like say, I loved us for kids and what you like or didn’t like about it or what you like about it. I loved us for kids.
I liked it because he’s talking about a bunch of things that happened to him, Bob Goffis, or to his family. And he’s talking about that how that applies to Jesus like one of the stories was like He
One of them was like, so they said they had like a zoo in their yard. They had a bunch of animals and one of them was ducks. Because, apparently someone ordered ducks in the post office, but then they never came to pick them up, so Bob Goff and his family adopted them.
How does that apply to Jesus? And then he explains it, it’s like, Jesus welcomes everybody and they trust him so they don’t run away even if they could’ve. What about the Action Bible?
The action bible is cool because it has like, you can tell who’s talking and like, it has speech bubbles and it goes like, oh yeah, la la la, and then, uh. Do you think it’s similar to the stories? Yeah. Do you think the Action Bible is similar to the stories in the Bible that you’ve read? Yeah. Like…
Let’s see…
Oh yeah, like when Moses calls the plagues down onto Egypt. It was like the exact same, but we could know who was talking and what was happening. like it was showing the frogs and the like others like the
and the other stuff that happened to them. Because a lot of kids read comics right now. Some kids really like to read comic books and don’t really like long stories. And they can still hear the Bible, right? Yeah. Alright, what about the Irresistible book or whatever it’s called? Oh, I read that a lot. I know, but just talk about kind of what it is and how it’s different than the
So, the last one… Yeah, the Irresistible… I thought it was like an impossible… Oh, yeah. The indescribable, like, devotions book. It’s like, there’s a bunch of chapters, every page, every… It’s like two pages has a topic, and it’s like, let’s say, the sun. It’s talking about how hot the sun is and how it’s the center of our solar system.
That’s kind of God and how he’s like watching over us and controlling us and providing the perfect amount of like heat. Even if we can’t see him, like, at night, he’s still there. And… So it provides science and… God. It also has a bunch of facts that you can learn like, oh, did you know that
Blah, blah, blah is blah, blah, blah. Both have their pros and cons, so what are things that you like about your new Living Translation? I like that it’s not as confusing as I thought it would be. It has a bunch of like notes and it has this cool thing. It’s like a selfie and it talks about someone and it’s
It’s they pretend it’s like an interview and they talk back kind of and it has like they’re like how is how did god make this How did God make you? Why didn’t God do this and make you important? It was like, let’s say it’s Esther. It’d be like, oh, God made me beautiful. So I could, so the king would love me and then I can save all the Jews.
So it’ll have like and then there’d be a speaker asking a bunch of questions to a person like Esther And then she would like answer back Thanks for the summaries.”