Emerald’s Gem Box…

Crying Babies and Rambunctious Children in Church

I took my babies/children to church. Let me start off by saying that.
But, I either took them to the nursery or they behaved during church (depending on their age.)
Please, hang with me during this column.
I do believe in raising children in church. And many churches believe that it’s okay to have children (of all ages) sit in the pews because it is considered “raising your children in church” and it’s teaching them to be “in church.”
But, I promise you, that at age two, three or four, they will NOT remember if they were in the nursery or in the main church building when they went to church. But, everyone else WILL remember where they were.
I have read, ““If you go into a church that does not have a crying baby, that church is in trouble. It has no future. So, let us thank God for crying babies.”
But again, I ask, “Will that child remember where they actually were when they cried?”
And, if they are older than five years old and do not know how to sit still for an hour … then they need to go to the children’s church hour/nursery. It is not “punishment” for your child to go to Children’s Church. It is for your sanity and for those around you; and it is for the good of the child; for they will learn more in Children’s Church than they will by you handing them an iPad to sit through church with. Isn’t the reason to raise your child in church so that they learn about Jesus?
Please ya’ll, please know that when your child is crying, talking or moving throughout the entire service, that everyone around you (and on the other side of the church) will notice.
You might be able to “block it out” because you are used to it, but everyone around you cannot.
I love children. All ages. But when I’m trying to listen to the preacher, but instead am watching your child talk to you and brush your hair, and climbing over the pews to their aunts and uncles behind you … I’m not paying attention to the preacher … and neither are you!!! If you are so busy telling your child to sit still, be quiet, or stop …. then you are not learning anything in church, either!
This column is intended to be short and simple and yes, it is very opinionated. If you spend your entire church service tending to your children … then you are getting nothing from the service and neither is anyone sitting around you. You would benefit more from the preacher and the service by taking them to the nursery/children’s church!
Please be courteous of those around you. It’s not about showing others that you have your children “in church.” It’s about learning something in church and letting others hear and learn something, also.
That is all. Enough said!