If you have a restless toddler, and don't use the church nursery....

[ktgrok]

How on earth do you do it? We haven't regularly attended church in ages, because it is just so hard with DD 2. She wants to get up and walk around, and talk, and just make a commotion. She is not ok being left in the nursery, and I won't force it. There is no cry room.

 

What do you do? I miss church.

[Embassy]

I had a bag of fun "quiet" toys that were only for use in church. When that became boring I pulled out a snack. Once that stopped working we left to spend the rest of the time in the foyer/hall so my child could get the wiggles out.

[LittleIzumi]

I stay in nursery with him until he's used to it. It takes a couple of months. Otherwise I'd have to go home or chase him all over for hours.

[Flowing Brook]

practice having quiet time at home. Start with say five minutes then work your way up to longer amounts of time. Have her sit on the couch or a blanket. Set the timer and have her sit quietly for that length of time.

[Ellie]

practice having quiet time at home. Start with say five minutes then work your way up to longer amounts of time. Have her sit on the couch or a blanket. Set the timer and have her sit quietly for that length of time.

ITA. Home is the best place to do the "training." Wish someone had told me when mine were little, lol.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I also hold my little ones and whisper in their ear what is going on. They loved whispering. We practiced whispering at home and made a game out of it. I did also take a break during the homily on occasion and walked around in the Narthex (where there were speakers.) When the homily was done, we would join the family for the rest of the service.

[ktgrok]

thanks. she does like to whisper..that might help. And now she is old enough to color without eating the crayons...before when we tried she thought they were snacks, lol.

 

This is complicated by the fact that I am the only one that really enjoys church. DH goes because he wants to support me, and DS goes because I make him. So me walking around out in the narthex with the toddler leaves the two in church that don't want to be there anyway. Which makes them frustrated.

 

I think I'll order some activity books/coloring books and see how that goes. Just gotta keep trying I guess. My son was squirmy, but not social. This one wants to go chat with everyone, which is harder really.

[redsquirrel]

Our church has a parlor and the sermon etc is piped in there. My little ones also would not go in the nursery. So, dh and I hung out in the parlor with the little one. I brought a small bag of toys to keep him occupied. It was sort of fun! DH and I look back on it fondly now.

[Maus]

My DH takes the toddler out in the hall and they hang out with some of his dad friends and their toddlers. I sit between the older two so they aren't tempted to "look at"/poke/whisper to each. We also take turns going to nursery with the toddler.

[amy g.]

I stay with the big kids in the church, and Dh walks with Miss Happy when she gets fussy or loud. They come back in at communion.

[ThisIsTheDay]

That was a period of time in our life when dh and I would listen to the sermon at home. It wasn't ideal, but it seemed the easiest at the time. At the time, it was good for both of us to bond with each other, and it gave us an opportunity to truly hear the teaching without a distraction. Looking back, it was good modeling of our priorities for our kids, and it made Sunday mornings pleasant at our house instead of a stressful time of trying to get out the door and frustrations trying to get kids "through" the service.

[Rivka]

This is complicated by the fact that I am the only one that really enjoys church. DH goes because he wants to support me, and DS goes because I make him. So me walking around out in the narthex with the toddler leaves the two in church that don't want to be there anyway. Which makes them frustrated.

 

...Then can't your husband take her out? Or stay home with her? It seems unfair that the person who most wants to hear the service is the one doing toddler duty.

[Sparkle]

Quiet toys and coloring books helped us out. Honestly, as long as she's not being really fussy or crying (which it doesn't sound like she is), I wouldn't worry about it too much. Speaking as someone who has BTDT, I think I worried too much about my kids bothering people during church. There probably were a few who got their nose out of joint, but I think most people remember their days of wrangling kids in the pews and are willing to cut you some slack. I know I enjoy seeing the little ones in church, and I'd be the first to tell someone at church to bring their toddler and to just relax and participate as much as they can, and not worry, as long as the child isn't screaming. Also, in my experience, the kids who come every week seem to do better than the ones that only come once in a while.

[Georgiana Daniels]

...Then can't your husband take her out? Or stay home with her? It seems unfair that the person who most wants to hear the service is the one doing toddler duty.

 

:iagree:

 

Or take turns. There must be a way to share the responsibility with hubby, because you need your spiritual refreshment, too.

[Forget-Me-Not]

I stay in nursery with him until he's used to it. It takes a couple of months.

 

This, with all three of ours at some point. Our church nursery starts at 18 months which, at least for my kids, has happened to coincide with a super-not-so-fun intense phase of separation anxiety.

 

Otherwise, we just muddle through, tell ourselves it's a season and we're building family habits. :001_smile:

[annlaura]

thanks. she does like to whisper..that might help. And now she is old enough to color without eating the crayons...before when we tried she thought they were snacks, lol.

 

This is complicated by the fact that I am the only one that really enjoys church. DH goes because he wants to support me, and DS goes because I make him. So me walking around out in the narthex with the toddler leaves the two in church that don't want to be there anyway. Which makes them frustrated.

 

I think I'll order some activity books/coloring books and see how that goes. Just gotta keep trying I guess. My son was squirmy, but not social. This one wants to go chat with everyone, which is harder really.

 

The Dover little books are big hits with my guys. There are tons of coloring books, but we also like peelable sticker scene books which are sort of like colorforms. Mini board books have helped too. And we have a cloth farm playset. Mind you, I still rarely get through a whole service. But at least we get some time.