When should a parent take their small child out during a church service?

Question

I'm just wondering, because there was a young one that kept crying during mass today and the parents never took him out. The priest tried to block it out but i knew it was getting to him. So when is it time to take the little one out to calm them down?

*well my church doesn't have a "cry room" but my old church(i switch churches about two years ago, a different catholic church* and that one has a cryroom*

*there was a woman whom did leave,she was a few pew's ahead of me, when her daughter*i'd say maybe less than a year old(could have been a year old) started to fuss, then came back in with her not too long after.

Answer 1

A parent can sense when a kid is about to start crying- they get fidgety and make weird faces- the prelude to the hissy fit. Take them out then, before they open their mouths. I don't want to hear them and will pointedly look at the parents until they vamoose. Same can be said for misbehaving kids in restaurants. Get them out first, calm them down, and then, if they can stay calm, they can come back.

Answer 2

The church I went to growing up had "Children's Chapel" during the first half of the service, during the reading of the Word. Kids gather in the basement and the lessons are explained to them on their terms. They join their families at the Peace for Communion.

This is the best way to deal with preschoolers, because an hour and a half is way too long to expect them to sit still and be quiet. Your chuch should put together a program like this to deal with the little guys so they don't get bored.

Even at churches that don't have Children's Chapel, there are usually nurseries parents can leave their kids in for part of all of the service. As I have said in other responses, when civilized adults go into public, they do so with the expectation of dealing with other civilized adults and not with barbarian children and their idiot parents. If you as a parent know your child can't handle being out, you shouldn't force the child to go.

Personally, I don't know how people can worship and pay attention to the liturgy when they are wrangling a couple of squirming children. I don't have kids, but when I do I have every intention of putting them in a program so that I can concentrate on what I'm doing for that one little bit of time once a week and go back to being a better mom. That's what responsible parents do.

Answer 3

How little some time determines it. Some larger churches have newborn rooms where mom can listen and care for a crying baby. If it is a 1-3 year old, when you can not distract them with pencils, paper, colors then take them out to the foyer. I'm sure the priest will find a way to take care of it in the future.

Answer 4

As soon as it affects other people, which is early. The goal is to remove the noise without rewarding the the little one for being bad. Make sure that "taking them out" isn't more pleasant than staying or they will put up a large fuss everytime to get rewarded.

No matter the reasons for staying, they should have respected others and removed the child from church. Its not the job of the entire church to endure that for the sake of rasing a child, making a point, or allowing the parents to stay.

Answer 5

We have a cry room in our church. It's only considerate for the child to be taken out so as not to disturb the service. The parents were inconsiderate. Perhaps the priest should make an announcement about crying children.

Answer 6

A good church should have a cry room the parent can sit in and calm little one down in whilst still hearing the service through a loud speaker. If the church doesnt have one they need to get with the times - if they do have one that parent might need someone to tell them about it.

Answer 7

in the experience that they were performing up that a lot and there have been sunday college school rooms obtainable, why did not one in all you're taking them out of the provider and carry close out until eventually Church became over? Sorry, yet your reaction of spanking a baby for this became way over the line. little ones must be anticipated to be bored in church. And convinced, take it from a baby who attended 2-3 facilities each and every Sunday plus Wednesday nighttime provider. next week be prepared with some crayons and paper, a pair little books to ascertain, or some thing to do. Or better yet, bypass to the provider that has Sunday college jointly because the sermon so your little ones have some thing to do.

Answer 8

A parent should never take a child or infant into the sanctuary if the child will not behave, or if the infant cries. The church should have ushers to escort them out if they don't. Yes it may seem rude to a few-but it is more rude to the whole congregation. Think about the priest/pastor/minister who is trying to deliver their message that took a week to construct.

Answer 9

Yes, it is distracting for the priest and everyone listening. Most churches have a room for parents to go back into with their crying children, but if not, they need to take them outside to be courteous to everyone else, as soon as they start crying!! I know I hate it when it happens at my church, and it does almost every Sunday!

Answer 10

The time to take a child out of any social situation is when his/her behavior has a negative impact on the rest of the group. If the child cries throughout mass, the parents should take him/her out. It's obvious that the child isn't getting anything out of it, and it's disruptive to the prayer service of all of the other church memebers.