How to manage davenning?

amother

Mint

Tue, Feb 02 2016, 5:08 pm

How do you manage to daven shachris and mincha when you are raising children?

I am posting because I want to ask you all what works for you and how you make it work, not if a mother should daven.

TIA

MitzadSheini

Tue, Feb 02 2016, 8:36 pm

When my kids were little I relied on the opinion of the Magen Avraham. Once per day. Daven in your own words...praise -request -thanks. It counts totally as davening if you are too busy with kids to daven out of a siddur. Even today sometimes I do that. A rebbetzin told me that's ok.

I'm not a Rav and I'm not paskening for you but maybe ask THE RIGHT question to THE RIGHT person and you can feel more relaxed.

Feeling guilty about the impossible is just the yetzer hara trying to trick you.

amother

Amethyst

Tue, Feb 02 2016, 8:51 pm

if you are home with a baby then you can daven when baby naps. shacharis AND mincha?- thats tough. if you take a train to work you can daven on the train.

amother

Slateblue

Tue, Feb 02 2016, 9:39 pm

I don't daven. Sometimes on Shabbos if DH takes the big ones to shul and the baby plays quietly, I can daven for half an hour or so.

Otherwise, I talk to Hashem in my own words, which is the true requirement of tefillah anyway.

tigerwife

Tue, Feb 02 2016, 10:02 pm

It's very hard. I find that actually scheduling it in makes it easier- even setting a reminder on your phone (more for mincha, which just slips by in the winter).

Can you just try for brachos and shema?

seeker

Tue, Feb 02 2016, 10:06 pm

How old are your kids?
If you're a SAHM I don't know what to tell you, days with kids home all day are really tough for me all around. You can set them up playing nicely with something that keeps them busy sometimes but you can never count on a specified amount of quiet time.
I find that it's easier when working, especially for Mincha. Once you're out of the house anyway, you can work in a 10-minute break somewhere or other.
When I am home with the kids if I get to daven at all I sometimes do it by involving them. Say shema and a few other things together, and for shmona esrei let them mime with a siddur.

PinkFridge

Wed, Feb 03 2016, 8:57 am

mtzadhasheini wrote:

Can't like enough. Ask your LOR or rebbetzin. I've heard varying opinions. One is, try to get in one shemone esrei a day and it's ok if it's maariv.
Formal tefilla is important, but don't feel bad if you keep it to a minimum. If someone responsible is telling you this IRL you are being fully mekayem your responsibility.
And as mothers, we can spend our whole day davening, informally. These are the years to learn how to talk in our own words.

And be happy!