Sample Poems & Readings for a Naming Ceremony Part 1

Children Learn what they Live

If children live with criticism,
They learn to condemn;
If children live with hostility,
They learn how to fight;
If children live with ridicule,
They learn to be shy;
If children live with shame,
They learn to feel guilty;

If children live with tolerance,
They learn to be patient;
If children live with encouragement,
They learn to have confidence;
If children live with praise,
They learn to appreciate;
If children live with fairness,
They learn justice;
If children live with security,
They learn to have faith;
If children live with approval,
They learn to like themselves;
If children live with love around them,
They learn to give love to the world.

Dorothy Law Nolte

Footprints

“Walk a little slower Daddy” said a child so small
“I’m following in your footsteps and I don’t want to fall.

Sometimes your steps are very fast,
Sometimes they’re hard to see;
So walk a little slower Daddy,
For you are leading me.

Someday when I’m all grown up,
You’re what I want to be;
Then I will have a little child
Who’ll want to follow me.

And I would want to lead just right,
And know that I was true;
So walk a little slower Daddy,
For I must follow you.

Anon

A Mother’s Wish

I hope my child looks back on today
And sees a mother who had time to play.
There will be years for cleaning and cooking,
But children grow up when you’re not looking.
Tomorrow I’ll do all the chores you can mention
But today, my baby needs time and attention.
So settle down cobwebs; dust go to sleep,
I’m cuddling my baby, and babies don’t keep.

Anon

Brand New Little Daughter

She´s your brand new little daughter,
so enchanted, sweet and smart.
With a coo, she´ll have you smiling
With a laugh, she´ll own your heart.

It´s the time for hugs and kisses,
Reassurance when she cries.
It´s the time for making moments
Full of love and Lullabies.

For these golden days of childhood
come and go so very fast -
Hold her tight and love her dearly.
Make these precious moments last.

Linda Lee Elrod 

A baby will make love stronger
Days shorter, Nights longer
Bankroll smaller, Clothes shabbier,
The past forgotten,
And the future worth living for.

Author Unknown

Night night, Mummy; see you later

At seven o’clock every evening my Mum tucks me up in my bed.
I’m nice and snug in my ‘jamas, beside me my faithful old Ted.

I always nod off very quickly – before Mum has turned out the light,
But when it’s her bedtime much later, well then I wake up for the night.

For there’s no time of day I like better than the hours between midnight and three,
For Mum hasn’t got any housework and can give her attention to me.

And when i start yelling and shouting, Mum knows that she has to be quick
For the night when she leaves me to grizzle is the night I decide to be sick.
But Mum can’t mind in the slightest at being my playmate ‘til two –
She’d normally spend this time sleeping, for she’s nothing much better to do.

Some nights she mixes a cocktail from the bottles she keeps on the shelf,
Which sometimes she gives me to swallow – and sometimes she gulps down herself!

And if in the morning I’m sleepy, and feel in the need of a perk,
I can have forty winks in my pushchair while Mummy gets on with her work.

But nothing’s as nice as the night time. And nothing can equal the pleasure
Of finding it’s four in the morning and being Mum’s wide-awake treasure

A Prayer Celebrating the Spirit of a Child

Give us the spirit of the child.
Give us the child who lives within - the child who trusts, the child who imagines, the child who sings, the child who receives without reservation, the child who gives without judgement.
Give us a child's eyes, that we may receive the beauty and freshness of this day like a sunrise. Give us a child's ears, that we may hear the music of mythical times.
Give us a child's heart, that we may be filled with wonder and delight.
Give us a child's faith, that we may be cured of our cynicism.
Give us the spirit of the child, who is not afraid to need, who is not afraid to love. Amen

Anon

Advice on Life

IF.....

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling

Wishing you many smiles and happy times to come
May life’s adventures be exciting and sweet
Filled with love from the friends that you’ll meet
You’ll soon grow up for time does fly
So cherish each moment as it goes by
From crawling and walking
To toddling and talking
There’s no knowing what you’ll do next
There’s a threshold to cross and a wide open door
And a wonderful world for you to explore
Sleep with the moonbeams and play in the sun
Let your life be a long one and filled with fun
May today and tomorrow and all days hereafter
Be days that are happy and filled with your laughter.

Anon

Lessons for Children to Learn

Do not be bored with childhood so that you rush to grow up – and then long to be a child again.
Do not lose your health to make money – you’ll lose your money to restore your health.
Do not think so anxiously about the future that you forget the present and end up living neither.
Do not live as though you will never die, or you will die as though you have never lived.

Learn that you cannot make someone love you, all you can do is let yourself be loved.
Learn that it is neither interesting nor helpful to compare yourself with others.
Learn to forgive by practising forgiveness.
Learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in those whom we love and it can take many years to heal them.
Learn that there will be those that love you dearly but who have not learned how to express or show their feelings.
Learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it entirely differently.
Learn that a rich person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least to be happy.
Learn that it is not enough for you to forgive others, you must also forgive yourself.

Anon

Be true to those who trust thee,
Be pure for those who care.
Be strong, for there is much to suffer,
Be brave, for there is much to dare.
Be a friend to all – the foe, the friendless.
Be giving and forget the gift.
Be humble, for thou knowest thy weakness.
And then, look up and laugh and love and live.

Anon

Forever Young

May God bless and keep you always,
May your wishes all come true,
May you always do for others
And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung,
May you stay forever young,

May you grow up to be righteous,
May you grow up to be true,
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you.
May you always be courageous,
Stand upright and be strong,
May you stay forever young,

May your hands always be busy,
May your feet always be swift,
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift.
May your heart always be joyful,
May your song always be sung,
May you stay forever young,

Adapted from Forever Young by Bob Dylan