Bunny Trail! Children In Church

Scroll down if you're looking for today's regular verse and blog post. :-) I just really thought that this article I read just now needed to be shared and discussed.

Should Your Child Be In Church?

While I can't say that I agree entirely with this article, nor with some of the comments afterwards, it does make me pause and reflect on what we've done. I agree with those who say that children's church programs should not be babysitting programs at all. If your children are going to go off to their own services- they had better be learning about God and the Bible and not just coloring or watching Veggie Tales movies. But there is something to be said about your children learning from a very young age how to behave in a church setting.

We had Abigail in the adult church with us until she was four years old. Our children's church programs then started at three, but she really wasn't interested in going, and she really behaved well. We would take a small backpack with picture books, crayons, quiet toys in it, and she would content herself through service by sitting quietly with her backpack and listening. With Zander, we had him in the adult service until he was 3 1/2, and with him,the only reason he went to class in the first place was because there was a special summer program where he would be with his big sister, so he was excited to do something with her. But again with him, he sat quietly in church until it was done, and on the rare occassion that he would get upset about something, I would take him out until he calmed down.

I have no idea how much my children actually absorbed from the messages they heard, but I do know this. They learned how to sit quietly and behave in God's House. They can sit through a two hour service and not make a peep, and I really think that's because we "trained" them at a young age. They got to see how mom and dad behaved in that kind of situation, and then learn how to behave in the same way. Now my children go to their children's church classes, and I wouldn't change that for the world because they're learning so much more on their level than I think they could learn in the regular church service. I have to say that I agree completely though with the idea that nurseries aren't really necessary. They can be helpful, and I think how our church does it is best, the nursery is available, and if you as a parent want to sit in there with your child, that's great. There's a TV in there so the service can still be on, and you can still be part of the service. But there's no dumping off your kids for play time while you go worship- and I think that's one of the important things.

I think this past weekend was the perfect example of how it worked for us. Saturday we had the kids at church with us all day long- and they were fantastic. In fact, people came up to us and later, saw our kids, and asked where they were during church. They were shocked to hear that they sat through all three (long) services, and no one heard a sound from them. Kids will behave if given the chance to learn how to behave.

So what do you think? Good idea? Bad idea? What's worked for you?