Dear Families Who Keep Their Kids With Them in Church...

It has always confused me why families choose to opt out of the childcare provided at church. Before I had Jack I always assumed that it would just be easier to put your kids in the appropriate classroom so that you could focus on the service. Then, I had Jack. I realized very quickly how much easier it was just to keep him with us because he is so young. We just keep him in his carrier and he usually just snoozes the whole time. But, there has been a time or two where Jack hasn't been happy.

He starts to grunt and groan and Chad and I know what's coming. I can honestly say there hasn't been a time where Jack breaks out in a random cry without indicating that he is unhappy first. This is why we feel comfortable keeping him with us because we know we can always just take him out to the lobby if necessary which is also why we sit in the back. We do this because that's what everyone does right?

Wrong.

This is something that I feel pretty strongly about. I literally cannot understand why parents choose to try and sooth their child at their seat. Do they not realize their screaming baby is a distraction to everyone? I am extremely thankful that our church provides a live video and audio feed in the lobby. I am also very thankful for the family room and mother's room that are also provided for parents who need a space to be with their kids without being a distraction. But it's not just the unhappy baby. What really doesn't make sense to me are the parents that choose to keep their toddlers who are loudly talking through the entire service and the parents who are playing with them and talking back. I think I would be a lot more forgiving if our church didn't have a place that they could go and be as loud as they want.

If I have offended you I am sorry but please just hear me out.

Dear families who keep their kids with them in church,

Please consider those around you. Please consider that the couple sitting in front of you may not want to play barbies during service. Please consider that this could be the person sitting next to you's first time to hear about Christ and instead is hearing about what you're eating for lunch. Please consider all of the family friendly options your church has and take advantage of them. I love that you enjoy being with your family and that you're giving your child the attention they want but please think about where this family time should take place.

Thank you.