Tips For Attending Church With Young Children

When you have young children, you might think it’s best to avoid church altogether. You want them to attend, but you’re worried about the disruption they might cause – after all, even the most well-behaved children might get bored during a church service and that can be stressful and unpleasant for those around you. 

However, if you want to go to church and there is no one to help you take care of the kids, or you want them to experience church so they can decide whether it’s something they enjoy later in life, it would be a shame to miss out. With that in mind, here are some tips to help you attend church with young children. 

Snacks

Children need to eat more frequently than adults. The younger the child, the more they need to eat – they are growing, and the body desperately needs the nutrients. This can lead to intense hunger pains and irritability. You’ve more than likely experienced this situation with your children in the past. Therefore, it makes sense to take snacks with you to church. 

Not only will giving your child snacks help to ease their discomfort and put their hormones back in check, but it will also keep them occupied. If they have something to eat, they will be less bored and they will be more able to sit still. Make sure the snack is something relatively quiet without rustling packaging because this can be just as disruptive as anything else. 

Online Services 

If you’re really worried that your child won’t be able to sit through a religious service from beginning to end and you don’t want to miss out on church, why not attend an online service? This means you can watch a service taking place, and get involved in that service, from home. Your children can watch with you, and if they start to get fidgety, you can give them some toys to play with, or even have them watch TV while you ‘attend’ church. It could be the ideal solution, and it would mean you wouldn’t have to miss out. It would also mean that you can gradually introduce your child to church, and they could learn about it at their own place. 

Online church services can be useful for many reasons; if you work shifts and can’t always be available at the weekend to attend church physically, for example, or if you live far away from your nearest church and can’t spare the time to make the journey, online services can really help. If you run a church, online services will help increase your congregation; learn more church live streaming solutions and see what could work for you. 

Short Breaks

Whether you’re attending a physical church or a virtual one, sometimes short breaks can be necessary when you are attending with a small child. Make sure you sit at the back if you’re in a church and that way, you can quickly leave and spend some time outside before heading back in. You don’t want to have to walk all the way down the church and back, especially if your child needs regular breaks, so always ensure you’re near a door. 
Although you would obviously prefer to hear the entire service, if it’s the difference between a happy kid and a grumpy one, then taking a break now and then could work out well.