Until today, we hadn't been to church in a couple of months. Every time we go something bizarre happens that really upsets my wife, so I've encouraged her not to go. She still values church, though, and I try to be respectful of that. Thinking of her, after this extended absence, I suggested we try going to the ward sacrament meeting. Bad idea!

Our two little toddlers were on very good behavior, but apparently it wasn't good enough for the grumpy lady sitting in front of us near the back. She have us several very dirty looks when our kids made so much as a peep.

A one year old opening a hymn book and flipping through the pages. Oh! How horrible! A three year old starting to cry and needing to be taken out. Oh! The end of the world! The one year old walking a little ways down the aisle. How undisciplined he must be! The worst was when she swung her head around and frowned while the older toddler escaped our clutches and hid behind the metal chair storage rack.

Her look said it all. How irreverent! How disrespectful! Can't these parents teach their children to hold still?

I looked at her teenage children. Each looked straight ahead and didn't flinch the while meeting. Not like typical teens.

I felt a little better when another parent had to take a child out and she glared and leaned over to her husband and made a comment about it. At least we weren't the only parents subject to her wrath. By the way this is the same nazi lady that runs the nursery and earlier kicked our child out because he cried.

Sorry, lady, but I'm not about to take my kids out to the wood shed. Have some sympathy.

Hey, she's doing you a service! Maybe your wife won't feel the need to go if she has more bad encounters.

CHILDREN AREN'T STATUES!

when they go places (or at home), they like to interact with their surroundings! It's (GASP) THE WAY THEY LEARN!

stupid cult.

One of my friends when she lived in Los Angeles brought some young gentleman to church who were thinking on becoming members.
The largest man sat next to her four year old son.(The man was dressed in his 'gansta best' for church, all black leather etc.)

Her son had had a neurological disorder when he was born and was extremely sensitive to stimuli, noise, smells, textures, movement and etc for years. He had a very difficult time sitting still even years later when he was 12, but this day he was 4.
He sat still through the whole meeting, eyes front, legs down, and not a peep or squirm!

She was so impressed! She took him aside after sacrament meeting and gushed "Son! I'm so proud of you! You managed to sit through the whole meeting without disturbing anyone or needing to be taken out!"

He replied "Mommy, that man showed me his big knife and said if I made a noise he'd cut me!"

She looked up at the young man and he just grinned at her.
Although mortified by the experience the family laughs about it now.

It doesn't sound like your kids were misbehaving, but one of my biggest beefs with Mormonism is the noise in meetings and kids running around. Other churches aren't like that, so I can sympathize to some degree with the lady. However, she seems to need a little perspective. Kids are not statues and they are not going to be absolutely quiet. However, screaming kids who are not taken out, kids running up and down the aisles and talking, kicking etc are out of line. Maybe she is just fed up with noisy Mormon meetings. Again, I'm not saying your kids were out of line, but the Morg might consiider having a place to put small kids who can't sit through SM.

I do agree. There are some extremely rude families in my ward who don't even fucking bother to take their kids out of the chapel when their kids are screaming. I'll put up with it for about five minutes, but then I won't hesistate to turn around and give them dirty looks.

simply do not go into the main worship service. They actually have a paid activities supervisor to keep the kids entertained and active while the parents and older youth are in the main service.

If Mormons a really concerned about "reverence" and quiet in their sacrament meetings, they need to do something like that. Sunday School is enough torture for little kids, trying to make them feel like sinners for squirming and fidgeting during a long meeting that has nothing in it for them is nuts. How many little kids have any comprehension whatsoever of what is being said and done in Sacrament Meetings. When some devout Mormon blathers on about Liahona this and prophet that and tithing this and Celestial Kingdom that...to a little kid it's just gibberish. (Well it's gibberish to me too, but that's another story.)

It would be like telling us adults to sit for an hour in a meeting where all you hear from the speakers is unintelligible: "Eek snark blubbah blubbah waggle friz berznak beranak Amen." We'd start going bananas too.

Gorspel Dacktrin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> simply do not go into the main worship service.
> They actually have a paid activities supervisor to
> keep the kids entertained and active while the
> parents and older youth are in the main service.
>
>
> If Mormons a really concerned about "reverence"
> and quiet in their sacrament meetings, they need
> to do something like that. Sunday School is
> enough torture for little kids, trying to make
> them feel like sinners for squirming and fidgeting
> during a long meeting that has nothing in it for
> them is nuts. How many little kids have any
> comprehension whatsoever of what is being said and
> done in Sacrament Meetings. When some devout
> Mormon blathers on about Liahona this and prophet
> that and tithing this and Celestial Kingdom
> that...to a little kid it's just gibberish. (Well
> it's gibberish to me too, but that's another
> story.)
>
> It would be like telling us adults to sit for an
> hour in a meeting where all you hear from the
> speakers is unintelligible: "Eek snark blubbah
> blubbah waggle friz berznak beranak Amen." We'd
> start going bananas too.

I agree totally.Sitting through the 3 hour block must be hell on kids. I hated going to SM when I was a kid and this was long before the meetings were combined.They need to have nursery activities for young kids. However, the church I attended this morning does have a nursery, but today there were probably 4 or 5 times the number of kids in the mass as in in an average SM and it was quiet other than a few fussy babies who were taken out. It was a long meeting due to First Communion and very crowded so kids were not able to move around much or stretch out as they usually do and it was still quiet. I doubt these kids were born with quiet genes. The difference is what they are taught and what is expected of them. Mormon kids can get away with a lot more in church. That is not to say that all Mormon kids are unruly, but it seems to be accepted by the congregation as a whole where it isn't in other churches so much.There may also be non Mormon churches where kids are noisy, but in my experience it is a lot less common even when kids attend the adult meetings.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/12/2011 11:23PM by bona dea.

There's a fine line between allowing kids to be kids..... and I agree a Hour (plus) sacrament meeting is really awful for kids

but then there are the parents who seem to totally abrogate responsibility from the moment the opening prayer starts.

reverence can go shove itself, it's bad manners and a belies bad parenting.

not suggesting your kids were like this......... just saying... yah know, it's a common thing at meetings

I went to a First Communion service today at the local cathedral. It was standing room only, a huge church and filled with kids and babies. I counted 12 kids just in the three rows around me. It was quiet. Of couse a few babies cried and were taken out, but kids behaved well and those who didn't were taken out as soon as they started fussing.. No one was climbing on pews, running around, banging on things etc. If it can be quiet in a large church like that, t he Mormons should be able to do it too.BTW, due to the large number of kids receiving first communion, the service lasted and hour and a half. Again, this is not a jab at the OP. Sounds like his kids were under control, but that hasn't been the norm when I attended.

I think your children behaved fine for their ages. When we go into church there are childrens books you can take with you for the service...when a baby cries our priest says angels are singing..but of they sing too loud, parents take them out immediately.

Mean old ladies, well they've forgotten out they are nazis. Kids are curious..they need to suck it up. Course catholic loud don't head to sunday school class afterwards, they go home and have fun..

I hate people like that.

stormy

Most of the older Catholic churches have what is known as a 'Cry Room'. It's a room across the back with chairs instead of pews and a glass wall separating it from the sanctuary. The sound is piped in on speakers.

In other words, there is room for strollers, baby chairs and wiggling toddlers and caretakers can see out and hear, but the congregation is facing away and the room is sound proofed.

It's perfect for children not ready for or comfortable with nurseries and allows parents to keep an eye on children without missing church. I hate it that the newer churches don't include them anymore! The church I work at just remodeled and did away with the room--expanded the ladies room to have a 'nursing area' with rockers and closed circuit TV, but I think that's too isolating.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/12/2011 07:41PM by nwmcare.

My ward does this in the RS room where the audio of the meeting is piped in, but I swear, there are some very rude families who don't even bother to do this with their kids!

your kids don't sound like they were a bit out of the ordinary. I did not blame parents for this problem unless their kids were teenagers who were gossiping through the WHOLE service in loud voices. I blame the stupid LDS tradition of keeping the poor kids in the sacrament meeting period. I grew up in another faith and the kids were always allowed to leave after the sacrament was served. It's hard enough for adults to sit through the boredom but for small kids it is pure torture. The old lady grump should do what I did and leave LDS Inc. rather than turn into a nut job. It's a much happier outcome for all concerned.

Are you kidding me? It's always a frickin free for all with kids at every ward I've attended. Your kids sound really well behaved! (My 2 toddlers are demons).

Leave her something in your will. Greatest gift ever is a bitch like that to show you what you could become.

Anagrammy

That when Stephen King was in Utah filing "The Stand" they hired a bunch of extras to play corpses. These people had to stay motionless for hours and he was amazed at how good they were at doing just that. When he mentioned that to someone they told him that's because they get 3 hours of practice every Sunday.

Believe it or not!

ROTFLMAO so true!

Bravo to all of the above.

Jesus, what a miserable cow! I feel sorry for those poor kids.

Mormons could look to them to solve these problems for parents and kids.

1. Always provide well equiped space and trained caregivers during services.

2. Change activities frequently. Every ten minutes stand up or sing, include lighthearted high interest stories and action packed little examples relating to children's interests.

3. Provide cry rooms with toys and snacks.

4. Don't let services run longer than 45 minutes.

5. Remind attendees that they need to be understanding of differing needs for babies, kids, the elderly, the handicapped, hard of hearing and visually challenged.

6. Remodel buildings to have better acoustics. I've been in churches where little sounds kids make are absorbed and don't disturb others. I'm not at expert, but would it help to have higher ceilings and more decoration like I've seen in nomo churches. I've noticed that I don't hear the kids in the tall pews where I've attended as much as the ones in the mormon narrow benches with short backs and folding chairs.

7. Many churches have a lighthearted slighly active and noisy family church time with kid songs and a story or drama for 15 or 20 minutes until the kids are led away to their own age appropriate activities while the adults stay to hear a serious sermon.

I am glad that she is not the final judge in Israel or none of us would be going to Heaven. Where is the compasion? Where is the kindness? Where is the Love? Where is the benelovence? Where is the caring? It is not found in that church because the fruit is bitter to the taste so it must be caste off. The root is bad