I didn't come here to be entertained by you or your child!

[KCT]

WWJD?

Take them on his lap, which today would be suspect.

 

[KCT]

Le Cracquere;:

That’s a highly odd thing to demand–unless you’re convinced that your children really are the be-all and end-all of existence in general…

When I was teaching, my 6th graders were surprised to learn that God loved a criminal on the street as much as he loved them. That while in their parent’s eyes they may be special, in the eyes of the world they’re no more special than any other kid in the room.

That was a huge revelation to some of them.

It was in the context of discussing a prideful character in a novel.

 

[Z1Z2]

Agreed. Honestly I don’t like babies/children very much unless they are family (in which case I’m crazy about them). But other people’s kids? Eh, I’d much rather play with a puppy or a kitten or something. They’re much cuter too.

And yeah, I do see it all the time… people bringing their kids to certain events/places just to show them off and get attention. I’m never one of those people who sees a baby/kid and immediately goes “Oh my Goooosh, she’s so cuuute, how old is she??” I have absolutely 0 desire to interact with other people’s kids.

I appreciate this post a lot! I love my kids passionately, but I don’t expect other people to do so. Likewise, when it comes to others’ kids, though… I would also probably find a puppy or kitten more fun and more interesting.

 

[EasterJoy]

I appreciate this post a lot! I love my kids passionately, but I don’t expect other people to do so. Likewise, when it comes to others’ kids, though… I would also probably find a puppy or kitten more fun and more interesting.

Ummm…we’re just talking about whether people are being appropriate, right? We don’t really need to compare the pleasure of their company to that of pets. We only need to let the people know we’d enjoy* them* a lot more if they had better manners, which includes not trying to make yourself (or, by extension, your child) the center of attention. Self-flattery is not terribly becoming on anyone, and parents owe it to their kids to teach them that. That a parent would teach their child to do it within the Mass is beyond the pale, to say the least. Self-promotion doesn’t get more shameless than that. You have to hope it is a kind of thoughtlessness they’ll realize and amend from.

As for the pets, some people prefer being alone to both the people and the pets. That’s a different issue, a matter of temperament. Enjoying solitude does not make a person a misanthrope, after all.

 

[Cat]

I’m just offering a possibility here.

One reason why people post many pictures of their children on Facebook is for the sake of parents or grandparents who live far away. It’s a way for the older relatives to enjoy more exposure to the little one.

I wish with all my heart that Facebook would have been around when our children were little. We didn’t have digital photography either. We had to take pictures, then take them to a pharmacy and wait a day or two for them to be developed, and then mail them out to our relatives.

My mom always loved getting pictures of her grand babies. Sigh. Facebook would have been so cool.

 

[jhyer]

My wife and I tried for 13 years to have a child and then, 2 years ago, voila, we had our son. While I am absolutely crazy about him and would give everything I have to make him happy, I do expect him to be respectful of other people during Mass. He has went to Mass since he was a little over 14 months old (we just came into the Church this past Easter) and, he is relatively good. If he gets too noisy or fussy, we simply take him out into the vestibule to look at pictures of past priests or simply look outside. We have developed a relationship with a group of older parishoners that sit on the other side of the aisle from us and, from time to time, he wants to go over to them (they actually initiate this) which, we will let him do as it makes both they and he happy.

However, there is no way I would allow him to bother anyone else nor would I ask someone else to take the time to look at what he is doing. While I love all children and see them for the blessings they are, I realize that my son is doing nothing that any other child has done in the history of the world so, unless he levitates or something of that ilk, I would never ask a stranger to “Look at him!”. To me, the people that you are describing are over the top and hopefully, they will eventually grow out of this behaviour. Good luck!

 

[PatriceA]

I’m just offering a possibility here.

One reason why people post many pictures of their children on Facebook is for the sake of parents or grandparents who live far away. It’s a way for the older relatives to enjoy more exposure to the little one.

I wish with all my heart that Facebook would have been around when our children were little. We didn’t have digital photography either. We had to take pictures, then take them to a pharmacy and wait a day or two for them to be developed, and then mail them out to our relatives.

My mom always loved getting pictures of her grand babies. Sigh. Facebook would have been so cool.

Its also possible to set some of your posts to be shared ONLY with family. If they were posting the pics to share with the grandparents or parents, or other family, they can do just that. One does not have to share everything with everyone all the time when posting on Facebook.

 

[ATeutonicKnight]

I think, in general, yes, kids have a fuss made over them more so than in the past.

With cell phone cameras, digital cameras, easy uploading etc, kids today have their photos all over the place for people to admire and fawn over. (I’m a grand mom; I appreciate pics on facebook.)

I do wonder if we could be raising a more narcissistic generation than in times past.

Kids need appropriate attention, of course, but I believe self esteem comes from inside-- from doing what’s right and good. I don’t believe it’s an entity all it’s own that can be given to someone. (as through praise for every little thing)

Just the 2 cents of a mom and grandmom.

Read The Narcissism Epidemic. It’s a wonderful book full of information, statistics, charts, and common sense on why the world is so full of narcissists, why that’s bad, and how we can turn it around. There’s an entire chapter dedicated to kids on the internet and the narcissism that can easily build from it.

 

[jmcrae]

I think kids are cute, I really do, but, I don’t think when a child is present, everyone should cast their attention on them. This morning, I went to mass, and there are the cutest little boys that go to my church. They’re five and one, but honestly, I swear this family craves attention. They sit and play with the kids, but the kids get in trouble when they respond…do you honestly expect the children to be silent when you’re reading to them and letting them play with toys? I understand bringing a book for a child to look at, but toys? They also brought donuts. I usually just ignore them, but lately they’ve been tapping me on the shoulder saying “LOOK AT HIM!” When one was getting bounced on his aunts knee. I just smiled, and looked away, yes, he is cute, but I didn’t come here to be distracted or entertained by you or your child. I’m sorry, but I don’t really find children interesting…I don’t feel I have to give them the center of attention. My cousin brought some girl to my baby shower, and she sat out a blanket in the middle of my living room, and played with her child. “Look at her! Look!” to everyone. “She’s crawling!” or when my nephew learned to walk, my SIL constantly saying “Look!!” when he was walking for three weeks after he learned to walk. That’s great, I know it’s exciting, but after the 2nd or 3rd time, it’s not that exciting. I don’t mean to sound rude, I know it’s actually the parents, and not the child. It’s just a pet peeve of mine, when I’m trying to pay attention to something or do something, and I’m interrupted to watch a child, be a child.

I’m sorry, this was kind of a rant, it’s over now.

I do like kids, and I do find them interesting, and I know I would have been very distracted and bothered by this, as well. The Mass is the Mass. We don’t do our children any favours by participating in this kind of nonsense.