Continuing from my last post having the children remain throughout the church service went extremely well. So well in fact that the children are looking forward to next week’s service.

We called the area where they sat, the “Kid’s Zone” and hearing them sing loudly gave me goosebumps. Peanut felt proud in being able to sit through the service and even learned some of the routine of our service like the Lord’s Prayer comes after the Pastor’s Prayer but before the Offering.

I brought her “church notebook” with some questions in it because we know in advance what the sermons will be. I went a bit overboard with my questions but it was better to have too many than not enough. Peanut even asked me about some of the things she didn’t get to answer. Now that’s amazing!

Parenting in the Pews by Robbie Castleman gives some great advice on how and why to keep your children in church instead of hide them away in a darkened room or in a program like we had, Children’s Church. Of course babies can attend a church nursery if the baby is fussy or crying. Sometimes parents want to put their full attention into the church service.

Our Pastor recommends starting your children in church at the age of four. Again this depends on your child. A younger child may be able to be in church if their personality suits being quiet and still for a while. I kept both Peanut and Lady Ali in church as infants, put them in the nursery around the age of one but then brought them back into church around three. They were able to not only be still but to entertain themselves so there were no issues with them being too noisy.

I’m enjoying this change in our church. I pray that our members understand that children are part of our congregation and that Jesus wanted children around him even when his disciples thought they were annoying Jesus.