I don't like to bring my son to church with me

Lol, that means your kid is more naughty than others. Well 21 months old means not 2 years even. Whatever u do dont scold the kid. Docs say naughty kids often gets bright when they grow old. I think stay calm and as your kid grows up, he will understand the situation. If u dont carry him with u, u wont do justice to him. I wish u good luck and love to the kid. Cheers, Tutul

me too, I don't like to bring children to church, coz I know they generally won't really listen to the priest and they are just distraction not only to me and my husband, but also to the church going public in general.

Hi DeenaD! I can very well relate to your sentiments. It's really hard bringing a toddler to church and getting attention later on from churchgoers when the little one screams or throws tantrums. I know it's hard to talk to a toddler, but maybe you can have a deal with him in some way that you will reward his good behavior when he behaves well in church. My sister brings candies and small snacks handy when she brings her son to church. That somehow settles him down. Anyways, it's just for an hour so that should take care of it. If all else fails, probably a relative can take care of him for a while while you attend church. But if there will be no one to leave your son to, I think you will have to settle with staying home and just do your prayers there for the meantime. It's not the same as witnessing a full service, but I'm sure GOd will understand. :)

I don't know if you have facilities at the church in which you can leave your son with a nursery or not. At the church I attended before I moved here, it was equipped with a nursery and there was a speaker in there so you could hear the sermon and goings on. that way you could be in church and not disturb others at worship if your son got too rowdy. If you don't have one, maybe you can suggest this to your priest and he might be able to make something happen. you may not be the only person feeling the way you do. Take care!

Try to sit at the back, then if you have to take him out,you will have a quick exit!! Even if you are at church for just ten minutes, at least he will get used to the idea of going. Talk to him about it through the week, let him know about church ahead of time and maybe it will be ok soon. Don't give up!! Good luck!

I have the same problems with my two year old. He loves to cause the biggest ruckus during church. Running down the rows of people and stealing other kids' toys and what not. I just assume not go these days until he's old enough to sit in one place at a time and not bother people. Problem is I would like him to learn about God at an early age. This is purely up to the parent to get involved at home and teach them Bible studies and how to pray.

We have a nursery and sunday school for the kids at our church. It's really nice cause we can take them in there and not have to worry about them during the service. If they have any problems with the children or they start crying and the workers can't get them to stop then they will put a number on this big screen in front of the church. You get numbers when you take your child in the nursery so if you see the number you are given that day then you know that's your child that is acting up and you go in there and get them to settle down. I wish you had something like this at your church cause it seems like it would help you out a lot.

I can certainly understand that you get anxious and worried if your son makes noise. However, to cave in and not take him means that he will never learn to sit quietly!! He will learn if you start taking him. Start small...only require him to sit quietly for 10-15 minutes the first time, then gradually build the amount of time that he has to sit quietly. If others give you a nasty stare, just smile. Remember, you are there to nurture your faith, not to worry about others! If you think about what God would want you to do, I really doubt that it would be to avoid church!

We have the same problem.My kids are both boys and they play and they cant keep quite inside the church.It really pissed me off because they are very playful even not in the right place.I dont wanna yell too since its not right.

Is there a way your church could have someone watch the young children during Mass, like a Sunday day care? Maybe you can ask your pastor priest if they could star one. That way you and other parents of very young children can bring your children and still go to mass.

Maybe you could organize a church nursery where people take turns caring for children during Mass. I'll bet there are other people who would be willing to participate. It is hard for most children that age to sit still and be quiet that long, even with little toys to play with. In another year he should be a little better able to sit through part of the service at least. Many churches have the children in the service for a little while and then they all go to the nursery. That helps them get used to the environment of the worship service while not distracting everyone for the whole service. Often the pastor will offer a "children's sermon" and when they are done they are led off to the nursery to play. Check with some of the other worshippers to see if they would support a nursery. There might be teens who would be willing to look after the kids for an hour.

I think this is a worry for many people, when i was younger, my parents used to go to church & while they were in there, us kids used to be in the church's hall doing Sunday school, learning about everything & enjoying our time with friends - hasn't your church got a children's learning program like that? Perhaps you could ask the church if they might consider having a creche or something so parents can be in church & not have to find a sitter for their kids! I hope you can come up with something - ask the church to help, i'm sure they'd happily find someone to watch the children while the parents are attending the service - they want as many people to go to church as possible so your idea might help!

I would take him to church regardless. I am sure that there are other children that make noise. Dont get angry or leave your baby at home because of the noise. The preacher should be able to understand and not expect quiet from a child so you.

That is understandable, you can always watch one of those services on tv if it is that important to you.