“Just as the Church is a place of beauty, so we can and should create within our homes this same beauty and order. Even in the womb, babies can hear beautiful music and loving words from their parents. Icons, incense, and prayers can grace their bedrooms and home. Gentle folk songs, good stories with lovely illustrations, poetry, all help to train the child’s mind to nourish itself on what is good and holy. Learning to love nature and animals, spending time in the outdoors, in the forest, mountains seashore, teach the child to respect and care for what God has created.
Out goal is to remind children of the angelic realm. We use the natural world to lead the hearts and minds of the small child Godward. Probably the greatest impediment to this is the television. As children grow order, it is almost impossible to keep them from the influences of the media in our culture. At least in the tender years, while we are able, we can protect them. ”
—Archbishop Abrose (Klucharev), cited in Orthodox Christian Parenting, p. 117)
