Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Question...

I have been wanting to ask this question for a while now...how do you guys make it with your child(ren) through 3 hours of church each Sunday???
We have such a hard time with Jacob...I bring treats (different kinds because he gets bored if I just bring the same kind), I bring toys (books, water bottles, etc), I bring water, and since our church starts at 1pm we make sure he has just woken up from a nap when we take him...which means he won't be tired. I try to feed him food and nurse him right before or as close to right before we leave...and yet we struggle! I often wondered how my own mother did it with 6 kids! When we first moved to Canada my youngest sister was only 8 months and I was only 11 years old...so scatter 4 other children in between us and you have our family back then! I actually asked that very question to my mom yesterday and she said she thinks children nowadays need more entertainment...she said she didn't take treats, or toys or anything to church with her when we were growing up! What? I guess I really was an angel child! lol She said my youngest sister Priscila would just be content to be looking around at people and she didn't have a problem with her through the 3 hour block.
Another issue we have is that Jacob will not sleep unless he's in his own crib, he won't even sleep on our bed or anything...so some Sundays he's tired (because he took an early nap or something) but he refuses to sleep. He's 13 months so it's another 5 months before he goes into nursery... right? So I'm curious as to how everyone else makes it through church on Sundays...
Please leave your feedback...It will be interesting to see the different things that work for other people.
I know all kids are different and what works for you might not work for me...but I'm willing to give anything a try at this point! Jacob's main problem is that he gets bored. Whatever books, toys, treats I bring only keep him occupied for so long...and unless he's in primary watching all the other kids run around and sing etc...anything else is boring for him...( I discovered this when I helped Randy with his class for 3 sundays in a row not very long ago)
I walk him up and down the halls, I take him to the mother's lounge to feed him sometimes, I have even taken him outside for a walk around the church...He is usually a happy child, as long as he's not bored...if he's bored, tired, or hungry it's another story!
So don't be afraid to leave me a comment, I will love to hear what works and what hasn't worked for you!
Thanks!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Claudia:

You know I don't have any kids so this is only my best guess... It might be worth a shot anyways, or not ;-)

It sounds to me like you're wanting him to sit still and "be good", but meanwhile, you've been resting him and preparing him to make church the climax of his day, the time he has the most amount of energy... That's great for adults who need to (or should) stay awake during the (sometimes boring) long talks and such, but he's not quite there yet...

I would try doing the opposite of what you're doing now. Instead of giving him a nap before church to make sure he goes wide awake and with lots of energy, (thus needing even more to be entertained), try tiring him out before church instead so that he doesn't have as much energy and doesn't need to be entertained so much...

I know you mentioned that "it's another story" when he's "bored, tired or hungry" but I think it might change things if he's had a full day's worth of excitement before church... And whatever your try, be sure to give it a fair chance - it might take a couple Sundays for him to settle into a new pattern and fully change his perception of what church time is supposed to be like.

Well, that's my two cents anyways. I hope it makes sense - let me know...

DM

The Caballero's said...

Okay - So I have absolutely no advice for you because everything you just said about Jacob, is EXACTLY what we are dealing with, with Noah at this point and he is only 8 months! I dont even want to count how many more months until nursery. I still dont know what to do and I have come to dread church weekly because of it. I have yet to sit in Relief Society for more than 20 minutes 2 sundays in a row. And when I AM at my classes (VERY VERY RARE) I am at the back on the floor playing toys with him trying to keep him occupied and quiet. I am SO looking forward to the day when I can actually pay attention to the lesson for more than 30 second intervals. I am frustrated beyond belief right now so I am going to pay close attention to the comments to this post and see if any of them work for us. Im so sorry - I totally know what you are going through. especially because Ed is in Primary as well so I am a single mother of a TERROR child for 2 hours that seem to drag on and on and on! The best of luck to us both! :)

Joel said...

We drug Kaylee.


It's a combination of turkey, red wine, red meat and Valium all blended together.

Now, I know what you're thinking
"That's terrible!" Well we don't give it directly to Kaylee. We have Beth drink this combination first thing in the morning (it's only about a gallon) and then when she feeds Kaylee, voile!

I have a very calm wife and kid during church!

reggstyl said...

Well it's Sunday evening, and your post was fresh on my mind during a crazy day at church.

TOTALLY understand you about the tiredness thing. None of my kids have slept at church after age four months or so. They get so tired! No matter what your church schedule, it always interfers with naps! I also like to give my kids naps right before church, it does help for us.

I agree that the between 12 and 18 months it is so hard. Especially when they start walking and are talking more...yeah. There's something to look forward to :) Sometimes I really wonder how we're going to get through that stage with the twins. But it always seems to work out. It seems like we just adjust to whatever is working best for that week, and it does differ, especially now when we go to church with Tyler's parents. It helps to have extra hands to hold babies. Or the weeks that I've had to go on my own, or when Tyler was on the stand to give a talk. Yikes. It's hard for me, but I do gladly accept offers for help from people who want to hold babies :)

Keep up the good work, maybe drugs are the answer. Sometimes when I'm spending time feeding in the mother's room and thinking that my time at church is "wasted" I have to remember that it's about obedience and teaching children right now, and I need to be better at getting my learning done at home when the kids are sleeping. Like right now. I should go read something instead of typing this...goodnight!