Preparing for Worship with Small Children

Having small children can be a challenge when it comes to worship.  We, as parents, can make it even more of a challenge if we fail to prepare our family for worship.  Yes, we must prepare their hearts and minds, but sometimes preparations include the most basic of things as well.  Here is a brief list:

• Get them to bed early on Saturday Night.  We do it for school, why shouldn’t we do it for something that is to be more important?  It will probably limit some of your Saturday social life, but it will set an example of priorities for your children.
• Have things laid out (clothes, shoes, bibles, Sunday School papers) or in the car ready to go Saturday evening.  For some reason Sunday Mornings seem like the worst morning of the week.  With three kids there is always a bible or paper missing and then we pull out for worship with dad blaming mom, mom not having time to get done what she needs because she has spent 15 minutes looking for a flip flop, and kids crying and upset after getting instructed on their irresponsibility.  All the devotions you did Saturday night to prepare for worship seem rather empty at this point.
• Parents should rise before the children.  (Usually not a problem, this also seems like the one morning when all of the kids would sleep until 10 AM if we would let them)  No matter how much we seem to prepare on Saturday evening, there is always something else that comes up.  If we can be ready to go before we get the children up it helps us be on time and the attitudes of all are usually dramatically improved.
• Take your children to the bathroom. I cannot stress how important this is for the entire congregation and the preacher.  Not only does it disrupt your ability to worship, but the pee-pee parade down the center aisle will disrupt others as well and spark a subconscious desire for other children to “need” to go to the bathroom.  Take your children to the bathroom 5 minutes before the service and they will almost always be able to hold it for an hour or more.  They do it all the time during “Cars” and “Cinderella”.
• Bring your loose change for the offering. It may not be their offering, but it gives them something to anticipate and participate in during worship.  As they get older, then they can bring their own money to give.
• Allow them to use a Hymnal, Bulletin, or Prayer Sheet.  Again, it is important that they know they are a part of what is going on and not just required to sit still while we participate.  Small children love to imitate and if they desire to imitate us worshiping, why not allow them?  As long as they are using it semi-properly, allow them to have it so they know what is going on is for them as well.
• Have them draw or look at books, don’t bring toys.  Bring papers, quiet crayons, etc.  Once a child is out of toddler nursery and in worship it is for training them.  If they still need toys, maybe they still need to be in nursery (talk to your pastor or nursery staff and see if they can stay in a little longer).  Let them color, draw, take notes or look at books (There are many good bible story and bible picture books they can use).  Again, even if they are not always drawing or coloring about the sermon or reading about what is being preached on, they are doing what everyone else is doing.  (Hopefully parents still “draw”, take notes during sermons)  Also, don’t allow them to draw during prayer, singing, etc.  Have them participate in all that they can.  Drawing should be limited to times when you as a parent would be drawing.
• Learn to pray with one eye open. If you don’t there may be entire rows of adults with both eyes open behind you.  Multitasking is part of it.  It is a training process.

Hopefully this will help enhance not only our children’s worhip, but also our’s and the entire congregation’s.