How to keep your Child Quiet
(416 Words)
Church should be a calm, peaceful experience, yet that can be difficult with a toddler in tow. With their natural energy, toddlers have difficulty behaving in church. You can use various strategies to teach and encourage positive behavior during a service.
Discussion
Parents are often amazed at how much even young children understand. Talk to your toddler about the importance of behaving in church. Explain why it is important. Although this may not be enough to ensure their behavior, it is a good start.
Practice
Church is not the only place where children will be expected to sit quietly, thus it is beneficial to teach toddlers this skill from an early age. Show him or her how to sit in church and let him or her practice. You can practice on your couch or go to the church early.
Modeling
Show your child how to behave in church by behaving well yourself and not talking behind your hand or displaying other poor behaviors. Also, if your toddler looks up to a specific person such as a favorite relative or an older child, then perhaps you can sit with him or her and the child will want to emulate him or her.
Positive reinforcement
Positive reinforcement can be a very powerful tool. Promise your toddler something special if he or she behaves in church. Perhaps you can take him or her to the playground or somewhere nice after church. You may consider a small treat or a little present. You can make a behavior chart and mark down how he or she behaves in church.
Bring diversions
Sometimes there is only so much you can do, especially if you have a very energetic toddler. In these cases, you might want to bring some form of entertainment for your toddler in order to keep him or her busy and quiet during the service. For instance, you can bring a small coloring book or Play-Doh to keep them occupied. Even if you would prefer your child to listen to the service, he or she simply might not be able to keep still for that long. You can ask him or her to sit for a little and then let your child play with their toys if he or she behaves well.
It can be a challenge to teach a toddler to behave during church. Some churches have specific rooms for toddlers, which may be useful as well. Fortunately, as time progresses and they grow older, the behavior typically improves.