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Infants, Toddlers, & Preschoolers
Is it acceptable or is it rude to let a child bring a book to church?
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Anonymous
Touche! |
Anonymous
| I think it depends on the age of a child, but personally I would much rather see a child in church quietly reading a book than one without a book who is squirming. My (very conservative and religious) mother let me take a book to church until I was pretty well into elementary school, I think. |
Anonymous
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Just don't bring snacks. I have a friend who does this and I really don't get that one.
One thing that helps, is actually sitting in the front. That way the kids can see what is going on. |
Anonymous
I agree with sitting near the front or at least somewhere the kids can see. That helps DD a lot. But why no snacks? I'm the PP who brings a snack -- a quiet, non-messy snack -- because DD's snacktime falls smack in the middle of church and it basically wouldn't work otherwise. She melts down when she doesn't have a snack. And like I said, I time it to the sermon, and thus Mommy actually gets to hear what the priest is saying! Everybody around us has seen her snacking, as has the priest, and no one has objected or given us the stinkeye or anything. People actually go out of their way to tell me how happy they are she's there and that they don't mind if she makes a little noise, etc. Anyway, OP, hope you have a great experience tomorrow! |
Anonymous
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On the snacks thing, I guess it can be done discreetly, but often it's noisy and messy. I didn't see that someone had included snacks in a previous post and wasn't calling the PP out, but I just haven't seen many people do it in a way that wasn't distracting to their fellow churchgoers.
A priest once told me he had observed a family eating cereal during mass--with milk! He was flabbergasted by that one! |
Anonymous
| I think it's fine. |
Anonymous
| Our church (granted, it's Presbyterian) offers coloring pages, crayons, books and worksheets (all church/family related) for children to work on during church. I think it's fine, although I agree I think the 7 year old should be able to sit through it without having something else to do. |
Anonymous
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One of the reasons I like our church is that no one seems to mind if little children squirm or even go for a walk up and down the aisles or in the back with the parents. I think it shows the church truly is "family friendly" rather than overly concerned about the silence of every moment. I think kids should be a welcome part of a church family, and sitting still for an hour is difficult for kids of many ages. A book seems like a good plan, especially for the seven-year-old. My mother bought a range of books from a religious book store, and, yes, she did bring snacks.
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Anonymous
| What's rude and unacceptable is a child who is bouncing around distracting adults who are trying to pray. I keep my children quiet with a small notebook and a pen. |
Anonymous
OP here--thanks to all! I love the idea about bringing a book of Bible stories and I think we will do that. I'm leaning toward putting the four-year-old in the church nursery.  Will let you all know how it goes, thanks again!
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Anonymous
Yes, eating in church is a sin. As is reading, doodling or not paying attention to the hour long sermon. |
Anonymous
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I just cleaned up a sanctuary after use.
Please, please, please: If you are going to let your kids doodle, clean up after them and bring your own paper. Put the bibles, hymnals and whatever back AS YOU FOUND THEM (It may not be rude to let your kids doodle or play with a book, but it is definitely wrong to leave a mess for staff.) |
Anonymous
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no cheerios. NO CHEERIOS. Bring something to eat that can be easily controlled, few crumbs and cannot be crushed underfoot.
Fruit snacks, dried fruit, etc. NO CHEERIOS. |
Anonymous
| We love St. Columba's -- started going there years ago for the family service, which run 30-45 minutes, and then went on to the regular service. There are crayons and coloring pages at both services. At the family service, kids come forward to sit on the floor in front of the priest who delivers a short homily, music consists of simple tunes with simple lyrics so kids can easily sing along (e.g., "This Little Light of Mine"). Your 4 y.o. would definiely feel at home and I don't think the 7 y.o. would feel too old, especially if this is his/her first experience with church. Even at the regular service, there's a storytime for kids up to 3rd grade. It's a very welcoming place; hope you'll try it. |
Anonymous
| I think it's fine. My father's a minister, and I brought a book to read in church for years. I think reading through the service allows kids to be involved with the congregation without being completely bored and resenting having to go to church. |