Do you bring your kids to church/temple?

Does your place of worship have a playroom that you can drop the kids off in if they get fidgety? We are Catholic and go to church every Sunday. My boys are 3.5 and 20 months and the older one does really well. Understandably so, my toddler can't sit still. But our parish doesn't have a babysitting room. Would it be rude to bring a coloring book & crayons, or give him one matchbox car, to keep him occupied? I am a firm believer that children should pay attention in church and not play- but at 20 months I just can't expect him to do that. What do you all do? I don't even know how we are going to manage church once the twins are here- I am tempted to switch parishes just so there is a babysitting room we can use!

Do you bring your kids to church/temple?

I don't know of any Catholic churches that have a babysitting room. Wish they did!
Honestly, we stopped going for a while as it was REALLY difficult with my little one. My older one is receiving her first Communion this year, so we've recently started going again. My LO was 2 in October, and some weeks are better than others. I always bring a snack and a bag full of books. Also crayons and paper. I see absolutely no reason that that isn't acceptable at such a young age. Also, try to go to the family mass if you can - there are always a lot of little ones there, so you're not the only one!!

Re: Do you bring your kids to church/temple?

My church has a crying room, it's like a soundproof room off to the side you can see out at the priest but the kids can be relaxed and play and not be heard. I've seen families with little kids or special needs kids in there.
I never go but that's were the bathroom is. I let my kids bring a little stuffed animal never a snack. They are 4 1/2 and still get antsy

Do you bring your kids to church/temple?

Thanks ladies!

Re: Do you bring your kids to church/temple?

I don't go to temple, but I do remember going with my mom and the kids always had a mini service downstairs and then we played.

Re: Do you bring your kids to church/temple?

My parents church and our church have toy/book bags, or a chair with small toys in the back. They have pamphlets for the kids (one for younger and one for older kids) with coloring, word searches, mazes. They also call the kids up front for the sermon and other things. Plenty of kids quietly draw/color, play with small toys. We go to the family services.

Re: Do you bring your kids to church/temple?

My 6 year old pays attention, mostly sits still, etc.

My fidgety 4 year old DD cannot. I bring her a snack (usually cheerios) (this keeps her hands and mouth busy!), and coloring book. She often also brings doll to hold.

It works well.

Re: Do you bring your kids to church/temple?

We have a cry room. Only thing is he doesn't get it's church, just a toy room.

Do you bring your kids to church/temple?

We leave the younger ones at home and just one of us takes my oldest.

Re: Do you bring your kids to church/temple?

Yes and we've been bringing them since they were very small so they are used to it and understand how they're expected to behave.
Our church offers a family-style mass certain days of the month where all the children are invited up to the altar to talk with the priest and we've found this to be very helpful.
When they were all 4 and under, we would bring quiet books or small toys but we didn't bring snacks or juice cups because I didn't feel right about it since my kids spill all the time.
Our parish administrators have said they welcome the families with smaller children because they recognize how difficult it is to get to mass and they appreciate that we're instilling strong values in our children.

Re: Do you bring your kids to church/temple?

Yes. It's been difficult on and off to get her to go and cooperate when we're there. It's really on me since my DH isn't religious but she's getting better. I did get her a little tote and some books/puzzles on a Catholic website. They're really just for church and so far she really likes them. I don't expect her to fully understand or pay attention at this point but she does listen and joins in standing or kneeling so it's getting there.

Here's the website if you're interested. I just went to the shop by age category and found some cute things.

Catholic Child

Re: Do you bring your kids to church/temple?

I wanted to add many times when I felt my kids were being too much people around me smile and say don't worry or something. Once I got up to leave and a woman told be don't leave and something else really nice, my parish is very family friendly. I have also fave certain times to be better than others

Re: Do you bring your kids to church/temple?

We are catholic. We don't have a cry room. My 5 year old (probably adhd) STILL has a rough time in church. I have always brought cereal and a coloring book or car to play with. The only issue is when he decides he NEEDS to make car noises but, even that I shush him a lot and no one seems to care. I try to go to the 9:15 family mass. One thing I have recently discovered... we always sat in the back in case he was noisy. However, recently we started sitting near the front and he was much better!! He watched what was going on at the altar.

Re: Do you bring your kids to church/temple?

Our Catholic Church does not have a room for kids. We go to the family mass for this reason and I have a church bag filled with coloring books, crayons, books, cars. My son is 5. The older two 7, and 8 are pretty good. I think it's asking a lot of a toddler to just pay attention for that long. As long as he is verbally not being disruptive I don't mind if he is doing other things. There is a mom I see every Sunday bring a set of young twins (maybe 2) by herself and I admire her so much.

Re: Do you bring your kids to church/temple?

Our church doesn't have a playroom. We rarely go. But when we do go, we go to family mass at 10. So there are plenty of kids. Some cry. I bring the entire world with me, books, trucks, you name it. Last resort is goldfish. Most people are usually patient and understanding and laugh at the nutty things my kids do (my son decided to put on a little girls jacket next to us and screamed when he couldnt).

We also sit by the aisle and toward the back in case we need to take one of them for a walk.

Re: Do you bring your kids to church/temple?

We only go to family mass and they expect kids to not whisper lol. My 5 year old is good but my 2 year old doesnt have a volume button and doesnt sit still. I bring her a sippy and one of her dolls and that helps. But no we dont have a babysitting service. The purpose of me bringing them to church is so they understand that sunday is church day which is family day and i want them sitting next to me.

Message edited 12/15/2014 8:41:20 PM.

Re: Do you bring your kids to church/temple?

Is it only the Protestant branches of Christianity that have Sunday School? Every Protestant Church I've ever been to has had it... Lutheran, Methodist, Episcopalian, Pentecostal, Uniterian, etc. It's the most amazing thing ever invented lol! We get to sit for 45 mins to ourselves and the boys get to play with other kids while learning about Jesus...win win lol!

Re: Do you bring your kids to church/temple?

We are Lutheran and yes, we go to church each week. We have a family service that is geared more towards families and children, with a children's sermon and Sunday school during the service...services are 1.5-1.75 hours though!! Its a major commitment on a Sunday morning! We don't have babysitting, but Sunday school starts at 4. We do have a "cry" room that is soundproof. My girls have been going since birth...we bring quiet toys (crayons, coloring books, little figures) and have always focused on them learning the responses, prayers, and songs (we have a huge praise segment, so we play a lot of the songs at home for them to learn).

Re: Do you bring your kids to church/temple?

Re: Do you bring your kids to church/temple?

Re: Do you bring your kids to church/temple?