13 years ago
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Ranting and Raving
Today was our primary program. It's a big deal for me cause I'm one of 2 choristers. This is our big day. It went well and the kids were darling. BUT! I can't get over the irreverence in church. I certainly do not wish for the loud kids to stay at home but whose responsibility is it to keep/teach kids quiet in church. The popular vote is NO ONE! Let these cute little spirits fly free. From umpteen hundred drinks and bathroom breaks during sacrament meeting to ballerina twirls in the isle or competitive eating during the sacrament.(47 packs of fruit snacks inbetween the passing of the bread and water holds the record) ARE THERE ANY PARENTS PAYING ATTENTION? I am an old fuddy-duddy. I believe that reverence is possible and should be expected. When I had young children I sat by a friend (single mother) with older children who required complete reverence until the sacrament was over. I learned a lot from her. Have a drink and a snack before if necessary and wait as long as possible to break out the necessary snacks. A "Felix the Cat" bag of tricks is not required to keep young ones quiet. After the sacrament and only then do I bring out the paper or mini coloring books. It's OK to say NO! It's also OK if it makes your little darling cry, mine certainly have. My kids are far from perfect and they have issues. We have even taught a girl with ADHD and attachment disorder to behave reverently. Our boys were also a real challenge. Lots of paper airplanes have been built. Some during church but usually as a reward for good behavior once we got home. We are in serious need of discipline but is isn't the popular thing anymore. OK, my soap box is beginning to crumble beneath me so I must go. I'm tempted to start a ward of non-families. Our single kids can't stand to come back after attending single wards and I understand it. So to my kids. Did I damage you in any way requiring good behavior? I love my kids and their good behavior. I can still snap my fingers and their heads snap in my direction. Oh what a cruel dictator!
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4 comments:
Do you have a really large number of young children?
Today as the choir was coming up to sing our Bishop stood at the podium and asked for everyone to be more reverent and to please take out noisy kids, that's what they foyer was for. Our kids were actually well behaved today. We didn't even break out the snacks till it was almost over.
I think it isn't so much as kids not being taught reverence so much as an overall lack of reverence from the adults. We are getting very lax as a whole.
Oh dear mother! The only way that you ruined me by requiring good behavior is that now I also expect it! In our old ward we had a family with 5 young girls. They would all sit in the pew in front of thier parents. The second they got to the pew out came the 5 sippy cups, 5 packs of fruit snacks, 5 packs of peanut butter crackers, 5 bags of cheerios, 5 coloring books, etc. And they were still not quiet! It is extremely irritating!
Ah, the snapping finger. Even when i'm not in church, if I hear someone snap just once, I immediately have to look and see what's going on. Pavlov would be proud! Good work, Mom!
I fully agree with you! Maybe it has something to do with the expectations and teachings of our parents. I also think that the expectation must be set by local church leaders. Every bishop, primary president, and others need to make it very clear that reverence is a requirement. They can do it with love and firmness and example. We have a reverent ward, because we constantly remind parents and kids together that reverence is a requirement to have the company of the Holy Ghost and thus strengthen testimonies and families.
Many years ago I was teaching primary and there were some kids being slightly irreverent in front of me. They were not in my class so I let it go. After the meeting a nice, mature primary teacher (who always reminded me of my mother) asked why I didn't correct those boys' behavior. I said I didn't think it was my place. I still remember her firm words, "Reverence is everybody's job."
I am totally amazed, as a fairly liberal and open minded Mormon mother, at the lack of reverant sacrament observance. We have the same video games and rough housing among siblings of larger families and even the totally BYU graduates Molly and Peter family in our ward (the same family whose child told me when I called my dog Pepe la Pee Pee that they don't say pee pee at their house because it is a bad word, allow their children to read Harry Potter through the Sacrament and the rest of the meeting. We come from the same stock of women, and I was taught that the Sacrament is for quiet reflection of the Savior and I am proud to say that since Miranda was about 7 or so, the coloring books did not come out till after the Sacrament, and when she was younger, she was still expected to put them aside during the Sacrament. I also need to say that there are several families in our ward whose children are always reverent and well behaved both in and out of church. We were raised by old fashioned farm girls and worthy priesthood holders and we are passing those values on to our children. But, I know that Molly and Peter (Becci and Alan, who by the way are our friends and I totally respect) are doing things right with their children that I probably could improve on. But like Weston, I sometimes feel like it's not my place. Like the old Primary teacher, my husband has no problem correcting wayward children. He will become a physical barrier to running hooligans in the halway until they bounce off him and fall on thier butts squalling. When he taught primary he regularly sat on or held in place physically a couple of his kids with jumping beans in their butts (is that a bad word???)
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