SENECA, S.C — A bedtime ritual for a South Carolina toddler is touching the hearts of thousands.
Kathryn and Caleb Whitt, of Seneca, South Carolina, were rushing to get their daughter, Sutton, in bed on Sunday night when they skipped over the ritual of bedtime prayers.
Like many Carolinians on Sunday night, the couple was cheering on the Panthers in the NFC championship game and didn’t want to miss the end of it.
“We started hearing noises upstairs,” said Kathryn Whitt, a preschool teacher. “We then pulled up the baby monitor on my cell phone and hit record.”
To the surprise of her parents, 2-year-old Sutton was reciting her prayers all by herself.
Normally, the toddler rushes through her prayers at bedtime, taking about 20 seconds to recite everything. But on this night she spent a bit more time. In the video, she thoughtfully calls out the names of the people she’s praying for and says thanks many times. Sutton mentions everyone from her grandma to her parents to even Santa Claus.
Kathryn Whitt was only able to capture the last portion of her daughter’s two-minute prayer.
“I was just shocked at her age that she wanted to think through everyone she wanted to pray for,” her mother said.
The toddler finishes up her prayers by mentioning her parents again before ending with a big amen.
The video was shared on Facebook, meant for family and friends, and has been shared thousands of times. At first, Kathryn Whitt debated whether to post the video, but once she did she was overwhelmed by the positive responses.
“Almost immediately people from all over were sending us messages saying that this touched their hearts.”
As for Sutton, she joined her mother at work this week, where people asked for her autograph.
“She knows she is part of something big, but doesn’t know exactly what,” Kathryn Whitt said.
Prayer time in the Whitt house has also changed since Sunday’s video went viral, Sutton’s mother said. The toddler is now eager to pray before bedtime.
