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Sunday, October 10, 2010

Sacrament Meeting Wrangling

What ways do you try to keep your child reverent during Sacrament Meeting?

My daughter is just 13 months old, and while she isn't talking yet, she can still be pretty vocal when she wants to. I've found that it's very helpful to have some small snacks that she can eat during quiet times like prayers and talks. This doesn't mean I bring our entire pantry, or a meal for her, just one small snack, like cheerios, that she has to concentrate to pick up and put in her mouth and that she will enjoy for a few minutes at a time. I also bring a few small toys that are fairly quiet so that she can have something to keep her attention. Either my husband or I usually hold her so that she doesn't escape underneath or crawl along the pews. She usually gets hungry for a bottle about halfway through the meeting because of the timing, so I have a small thermos of hot water, and formula portioned and ready to dump into the bottle. This makes it so much easier to feed her, without disrupting those around us by getting in and out of the pew a million times during the meeting. If I do have to take her out because she's being too noisy, I try to take her to a quiet place, either an empty classroom or a quiet hallway. I know that the foyers can turn into playtime when there are a few kids that need to be taken out. I try to avoid these places because then, rather than being a place to stop crying and get quiet, it becomes a fun place that kids want to go to. If they think it's going to be fun out in the foyer, they tend to consistently act up during the meeting so they can go out. I want my daughter to learn to enjoy the meetings, and learn that she can enjoy some quiet activities when she needs a break, rather than playing with toys out in the foyer. I'm definitely not perfect at keeping her quiet and entertained, but I try to at least keep her quiet so those around me can enjoy the meetings. If she does need to be a little louder, I try to have it happen during the songs, since those are pretty noisy times anyway. She likes to "sing" along, and I definitely encourage it, because she does better during the rest of the meeting.

(I'm adding my name as a label so that later I can find the posts I've done)

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