We've gone a few times with both kids. Ds1 is almost three and thankfully does ok between participating and reading/coloring books during our hour long mass. Ds2 usually just sleeps in his car seat.
Do your kids go to the nursery? Sunday school? How are they during service?
watermelon / 14467 posts
I only have one and she attends the service with me. I find it very distracting but we are working on it. there is another toddler there too so it's nice to have some company in the back.
pear / 1961 posts
The 3.5yo is fine usually. I bring some cheerios, some crayons, and a doll so she can either pay attention or play quietly. They also collect all the preschool age kids and take them out for a kids lesson during the readings & sermon, which she sometimes will do.
The almost 1yo is now at the terrible age of just wanting to be into everything and constantly moving but not old enough to follow directions (esp when those are: sit here still and quietly!). So I'll probably start taking her to the nursery so she can have more freedom.
Our church is actually very kid friendly, but it's hard managing two in a place like that when I'm solo parenting (typical).
grapefruit / 4903 posts
We have taken them both every week since they were born. Some weeks are better than others, but generally, they behave. We try to choose a Mass that's at a time we know will be good for them, and we bring a rotating set of saint dolls and children's prayer books. We keep Cheerios with us for a pinch. If they get too squirrelly, we step out into the narthex for a few minutes until they calm down, but that's not needed too often (a few minutes once every three or four weeks, maybe). I think they're used to it and know what's expected. It's counter intuitive, but we try and sit near the front. They behave better when they can see and participate. I definitely spend a lot of my attention on keeping them focused and explaining things to them, but it's worth it to me. It's a short season in the grand scheme of my prayer life, and I want to instill in them these habits and teach them these beliefs from the beginning.
apricot / 287 posts
I only have one, but he goes to nursery every week (he's 13 months). I kept him with me until he was about 6months and it was really easy when he was tiny because he would sleep the whole time. Now he's just too active to even try keeping him with me, but he loves the nursery workers.
hostess / papaya / 10540 posts
Ours doesn't have child care. Our 4 year old is fine, but the 1 year old, not so fun.
pineapple / 12053 posts
DD1 goes to her kids room where they play and do a lesson. When DD2 arrives, I'll probably just wear her until she's big enough to go to the infant room. They also have a mothers room that I can go to and listen/watch from if DD2 is a loud baby.
honeydew / 7303 posts
Our 3 year old goes to the preschool room and our almost 7 month old stays with us in service but I think I'm going to start putting him in nursery next time!
kiwi / 549 posts
This blog post and the others it links to is a gold mine for handling kids in mass. That said, we only have to wrangle 1 kiddo for now until DD arrives in February. Also, this blogger expects 2 year olds to follow along in mass-- but at 4 yrs old, DS is really happy quietly reading or looking at his books, coloring, doing lacing cards (all religious themed-- no just for fun books at church) + participating with some parts of the mass. Since the groundwork has been laid, and there's such an age gap, I don't expect caring for him to be much of an issue @ mass when DD arrives-- until we start weaning off the books & things when it's time to prep for 1st Communion. (I know I could be wrong though. Who knows how little sister will affect his behavior.)
Anyway, check out this post and the others linked in it. I found it all super helpful. http://www.catholicallyear.com/2014/08/peace-be-with-you-dinosaur-age.html?m=1
cantaloupe / 6059 posts
Our two just got to the nursery. They are one and two. I think when our oldest turns five we might start bringing him to service as well.
hostess / cantaloupe / 6486 posts
They go to the nursery. DD1 is 2 and has gone since about 9 months....DD2 is 6 months and has been going for about a month. She was being good but her happy noises are loud and distracting so I send her in there they both do great and love it there.
pomegranate / 3565 posts
Our church doesn't have a nursery. The 3 year old behaves, but my 17 month doesn't. We don't go as regularly as we should. But when we do go, we sit in the cry room, bring snacks, and books.
| Today | Monthly Record | |
|---|---|---|
| Topics | 0 | 1 |
| Posts | 1 | 3 |
Ask for Help
Make a Suggestion
Frequently Asked Questions
Bee Levels
Acronyms
Most Viewed Posts
Hellobee Gold
Hellobee Recipes
Hellobee Features
Hellobee Contests
Baby-led Weaning
Bento Boxes
Breastfeeding
Newborn Essentials
Parties
Postpartum Care Essentials
Sensory Play Activities
Sleep Training
Starting Solids Gear
Transitioning to Toddler Bed
All Series
Who We Are
About the Bloggers
About the Hostesses
Contributing Bloggers
Apply to Blog
Apply to Hostess
Submit a Guest Blog
Hellobee Buttons
How We Make Money
Community Policies
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
12 comments