Tiny Psalms
This is a free Bible bedtime story for children, about two minutes to read aloud. It retells Mark 10:13–16, the day grown-ups tried to send the children away and Jesus stopped them. It is the story to reach for when a child has had a day of feeling small, left out, or in the way — and it ends with a short prayer and three real scripture promises.
One afternoon, some mothers and fathers brought their children to see Jesus.
They did not want anything complicated. They just wanted Jesus to put His hands on their children and say a kind word over them. So they waited, holding the little ones, in a line in the dust.
But Jesus' friends did not like it.
They thought Jesus was too busy and too important for children. They thought children were noisy, and small, and not part of the real work. So they started sending the families away. “Not today,” they said. “Move along. He hasn't got time.”
When Jesus saw what they were doing, He was not pleased at all.
“Let the children come to me,” He said. “Don't you dare stop them.”
And then He said something that must have made the grown-ups go very quiet. He said that if anybody wanted to understand what God's kingdom was like, they should look at the children — because that was who it belonged to.
So the children came.
They climbed up onto His lap. He put His arms around them, one at a time, and put His hands on their heads, and blessed them. Nobody was rushed. Nobody was too small. Nobody was in the way.
That is what Jesus is like.
A prayer to finish
Jesus, thank You that You wanted the children. Thank You that You were not too busy, and that nobody had to be big or good enough first. Thank You that You want me too. Goodnight, Jesus. Amen.
Three promises to fall asleep holding
- Jesus wants me near Him. “Suffer the little children to come unto me.” — Mark 10:14
- I am not too small to matter. “Thou hast perfected praise” out of the mouths of children. — Matthew 21:16
- God knows my name. “I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.” — Isaiah 43:1
Where it comes from
Mark 10:13–16, with shorter versions in Matthew 19 and Luke 18. Mark is the one that records that Jesus was “much displeased” with the disciples — the only time in the Gospels that phrase is used of Him, and it is used on behalf of children.
How to tell it
This story works best when the disciples get to be genuinely rude. Children recognise being shooed away, and the story only lands if the shooing is real before Jesus stops it.
Then slow down for the last three lines. “Nobody was rushed. Nobody was too small. Nobody was in the way” is the sentence a child will remember on a day they felt all three.
It is a good story after a hard day at school, a fallout with a friend, or a week where a new baby has taken all the attention. More are on the Bible bedtime stories page.
A story made just for your child tonight
On the nights your child needs this particular reassurance, Tiny Psalms can write it around them by name — tell it what happened today, and the story, the prayer and the three promises are shaped to it. Your first story is free.
Frequently asked questions
What is the story of Jesus and the little children about?
Mark 10:13–16: parents brought their children for a blessing, the disciples tried to turn them away as an interruption, and Jesus stopped them and said the kingdom of God belongs to children. Then He held them and blessed them.
What age is this story for?
Two to eight works well, and it is one of the few Bible stories that genuinely lands for a two-year-old, because the whole point is simple: Jesus wanted them there.
What does “suffer the little children” mean?
In older English, “suffer” meant allow or permit. “Suffer the little children to come unto me” means “let the children come to me” — there is nothing about suffering in the modern sense.
When should I use this story?
After a day when your child felt left out, told off, or overlooked — a new sibling, a friendship wobble, a hard day at school. It is short enough to use on a night when everyone is too tired for anything longer.