Church Girl

Church has been a bit hit-or-miss this summer, as we've been traveling on so many weekends. The last time Nat and I made it to church was about 3 weeks ago. After that Sunday, I decided to stop trying to put her in the child care room.

I never put her in the child care room until this spring. I figured that now she was old enough to be restless and need to play, but not old enough to "force" to sit still and quiet. So I started dropping her in child care, heading to the service alone, then picking her up before communion and bringing her into church for the end of the service.

She hated child care. It isn't that she is overly clingy in general or that she doesn't like to play with other kids and adults. But the way it works at our church, is parents take turns watching the kids. So there wasn't a consistent adult she could schmooze and get used to. The kids aren't completely consistent from week-to-week either, so it felt to her like being dumped into a crowd of strangers every week.

The last time (and third or fourth time we'd tried it) I picked her up she was sorrowfully tear-streaked and melodramatically relieved to see me. She pointed at the door, "church!" she demanded, then, to the room of kids, "bye!" So off we went back to the service, where she sat happily on my lap, listened to the singing with glee, waved and fluttered her eyelashes at everyone walking past for communion (we always sit up front for this very purpose) and generally had a great time at coffee hour, nibbling treats she never gets at home and asking everyone his or her name.

When we got home, Cole asked her how church went. "Playroom! Children! I cried! Mama Shannon!" then, raising her hands over her head to clap happily, she shifted the mood of her story, "Downstairs church! Yea!!!! Church! Singing! Crackers!"

Cole looked at me, and interpreted perfectly, "she cried in the playroom but really enjoyed church, huh?"

Well, why fight it?

So she sat with me all the way through the service today and did very well. I expected we'd just go out for a little walk during the sermon, but instead, she curled up in my lap and lay her head down for a little rest. When all the music and action started up again, she danced and flirted silently with some little girls across the room and at one point, during the prayers, I whispered Cole's name and Nat shouted "Cole Mom!"

After what probably amounted to an entire apple's worth of apple slices and lots of socializing with other kids and adults at coffee hour, we headed home.

Nat rushed into the house to find Cole. "Cole-mom!" she announced "I missed you at church!"

Comments

[caro]

That's great! I wish our girl were so peaceful in the sanctuary. She does love the music and the people-flirting, but tends to shout "All done!" at the end of every hymn or prayer. I'm all for kids as part of the life of the church, but this is embarrassing (though cute) enough that we're trying really hard to make the nursery thing work...

[Beth]

This cracks me up! Our little girl likes church, too. We are fortunate to have a great nursery with terrific and consistent caregivers, but my mom likes being in church with her so much -- it's their special time together -- that we're trying to keep making it work as long as possible. She even gets a bottle in church, which she doesn't get except at bedtime any other day of the week.

[cloudscome]

I am struggling over what to do at church right now. My little boys have gotten better about being in the service for the second half (after the sermon, during the Eucharist). But they are not quiet or sitting still. I bring books, toys, stickers, crayons, etc. in my bag of tricks and just barely keep them contained. Punkin will not stay in the nursery without screaming. Buddy is getting a little old for nursery (turns 5 next month). Sometimes I take them to the nursery and just stay with them. Sometimes we come late for church. *sigh* I am working on it but it ain't easy. I haven't heard a sermon in about two years. Not that I miss that part LOL.