The most basic obligation of הגדה is merely telling your son what it means to be a slave and to be free. The רמב״ם tell us that when a father has to perform this מצוה with a young child he should do the following:

יצד אם היה קטן או טיפש אומר לו בני כולנו היינו עבדים כמו שפחה זו או כמו עבד זה במצרים ובלילה הזה
  פדה אותנו הקב"ה ויוציאנו לחירות  

In other words, the bottom line, minimum obligation is not the retelling of the afflictions of servitude; nor the אירעו nor the היו . It’s not even retelling the נסים ונפלאות ; not even מתן תורה or any theology. The basic obligation is to recognize that we were slaves and now we are free. The child has no clue what slavery means. You have to teach this to him. Today, we think slavery means affiliction. Over here, that’s not the case. The עבד here is my עבד . He’s treated properly. He has dresses well and is healthy. The focus here is purely on the transition from slavery to freedom. We think of the slave ships. That’s not the case in the רמב״ם . We’re talking about my slave. There is no indication the עבד means affliction. What you show your son is the the value of freedom versus slavery. Most of us come out of the סדר with an appreciation of the fact that we are now not being whipped and oppressed. We escaped the Nazis. But the evening is not just recognizing the lack of affliction and harassment. There is more to the night. You should come out with an awareness of where you are now, recognizing your past and your present states. You have transitioned from slavery to a state of freedom. You now have an ability and opportunity which you didn’t have before. As an educator, I’ve seen that unless you emphasize this aspect of יציאת מצרים , the child won’t appreciate the magnitude of this reality. How many people really know the value of freedom over slavery and are able to relate that to the next generation. That definitely has to be a theme in the Seder. For this, I recommend you figure out what it means to be a slave. Read Alex Haley’s Roots. In our mind, most of the pictures of slavery we have are of ugly slavery. According to the רמב״ם , you have to walk away from that imagery and look at your slave and still be able to say, “We were there and G-d took us out.” The value of freedom is more precious than even the slave who lives in the lap of luxury. Why? Well, explain to me the value of freedom and the curse of slavery. The difference is that a slave is a חפצא and a free man is a גברא . The slave’s body is not his own; rather, it’s an extension of the owner. For that reason, the slave doesn’t have responsibility for the damages he commits. In truth, he has no responsibility for anything. The brain behind him is his master and he is no more than the machine who performs the master’s will. Freedom means you are your own person. You pay your own dues for you are solely
responsible for your own life. You are now a person who has to make your own decisions. That’s a major theme in the Seder!


haggadah Section: -- Exodus Story