Would you leave your toddler?

[Anonymous]

DH and I were out of town last weekend and decided to go to church that Sunday morning. We took 14 month old DS with us, and since we were just visiting, we brought him to the service with us. He was very quiet and well behaved and actually slept most of the time. The one time he started making noise (happy noise, not screaming), DH took him right out, and a lady followed him and told him he needed to drop DS off in the nursery. DH said we were just visiting, so we preferred to keep him with us. She was adamant, and said they asked parents don't bring their children to the service. We can't understand how we'd be expected to be comfortable leaving our child with people we didn't know.

Obviously we won't be back, but - would you have left your young toddler in a strange church nursery?

[Anonymous]

Not the right church.

[Anonymous]

I would be okay with leaving my child with a strange church nursery -- but I would be very upset by a church member telling me my child is not welcome at a service.

There may be some churches that prefer to exclude babies and children from a service. Those are not the type of church I would want to attend. If someone told me that, I would contact the pastor/priest and tell them about it, letting them know how unwelcome I felt at such a place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would be okay with leaving my child with a strange church nursery -- but I would be very upset by a church member telling me my child is not welcome at a service.

There may be some churches that prefer to exclude babies and children from a service. Those are not the type of church I would want to attend. If someone told me that, I would contact the pastor/priest and tell them about it, letting them know how unwelcome I felt at such a place.

Even as a one time visitor?

[Anonymous]

I'm the first PP above. My kids would have screamed bloody freakin murder being left with strangers at that age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be okay with leaving my child with a strange church nursery -- but I would be very upset by a church member telling me my child is not welcome at a service.

There may be some churches that prefer to exclude babies and children from a service. Those are not the type of church I would want to attend. If someone told me that, I would contact the pastor/priest and tell them about it, letting them know how unwelcome I felt at such a place.

Even as a one time visitor?

Yes. I'm a PK and I feel strongly that mainline churches need to welcome any and all visitors and members. It is what churches should do.

Additionally, mainline churches are in decline and don't need to hasten it by driving people away. Practically speaking, it's dumb.

[Anonymous]

No, I probably wouldn't leave my kid at the nursery, but beacuse she would probably freak out. Her following you out means we would,never come back.

[Anonymous]

11:06 here -- Also, my children are fine being dropped off at new places.

[Anonymous]

Clergy here - sorry this happened, OP. I understand taking him out for a break if he needed it, but it was so unwelcoming of them to insist that he not attend service. As a pastor, I'd want to know that this happened.

[Anonymous]

No way

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't feel comfortable and I wouldn't be sure my son would either.

I've never heard of a no-kid service!

[Anonymous]

Awful! Definitely not the right church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be okay with leaving my child with a strange church nursery -- but I would be very upset by a church member telling me my child is not welcome at a service.

There may be some churches that prefer to exclude babies and children from a service. Those are not the type of church I would want to attend. If someone told me that, I would contact the pastor/priest and tell them about it, letting them know how unwelcome I felt at such a place.

Even as a one time visitor?

One time visitor or not, wouldn't there eventually have to be a first time you left DC in the nursery? And you/he wouldn't necessarily know the people in charge since it would likely be a rotating set of volunteers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be okay with leaving my child with a strange church nursery -- but I would be very upset by a church member telling me my child is not welcome at a service.

There may be some churches that prefer to exclude babies and children from a service. Those are not the type of church I would want to attend. If someone told me that, I would contact the pastor/priest and tell them about it, letting them know how unwelcome I felt at such a place.

Even as a one time visitor?

One time visitor or not, wouldn't there eventually have to be a first time you left DC in the nursery? And you/he wouldn't necessarily know the people in charge since it would likely be a rotating set of volunteers?

This. Wouldn't everyone's first time at church with their child be the first time they are leaving them in a "strange" church nursery? Everyone does it at one point or another that is a regular. So I don't really see the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be okay with leaving my child with a strange church nursery -- but I would be very upset by a church member telling me my child is not welcome at a service.

There may be some churches that prefer to exclude babies and children from a service. Those are not the type of church I would want to attend. If someone told me that, I would contact the pastor/priest and tell them about it, letting them know how unwelcome I felt at such a place.

Even as a one time visitor?

One time visitor or not, wouldn't there eventually have to be a first time you left DC in the nursery? And you/he wouldn't necessarily know the people in charge since it would likely be a rotating set of volunteers?

This. Wouldn't everyone's first time at church with their child be the first time they are leaving them in a "strange" church nursery? Everyone does it at one point or another that is a regular. So I don't really see the problem.

It's not a rotating set of volunteers at our church, and since we took him to the service with us for the first 11 months of his life, I knew the nursery people before I left him there for the first time.