If an infant is baptized, could there be noticeable signs?

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misstherese

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I’m trying to urge my sister to baptize her little girl who is four years now. She has some behavioral issues, like all four year olds, constantly wanting candy and always talking about her desire for material items like clothes and toys. Every time I watch her, I’m bombarded by her cries and whines for these things. I know it doesn’t sound so bad, but believe me, if you met her you would understand my frustration.

I was just wondering, if she were baptized, could there be a change in her behavior? Even slight?
 
I don’t think so. I would say not in the slightest.

Don’t expect a four year old to change behavior after baptism. I hope you haven’t said anything like that to your sister.
 
No…I only want her baptized so that she will have the grace of God within her. This is a question out of mere curiosity. Since infants aren’t able to reason properly, they cannot sin, right? So how would baptism effect them?

I mean, when someone is baptized, they are transformed. They receive a new heart and spirit (spiritual inclination), completely renewed. Is it so absurd to think there might be noticeable changes?
 
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@misstherese

No.

It is offensive the way you hoping the sacrament will change the kid because you are frustrated with a toddlers behavior.
 
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It sounds to me like the little girl needs some parental training in not being so needy and greedy, not necessarily baptism. While she may be too young to fully absorb the lesson and change her behavior, it’s never too early to start sowing the seed.
 
Again, nope. Did you even read my post? I’m wondering if it would change her behavior; this post is out of pure curiosity. I love my niece and I do not care really if her behavior changes from it.

You do not know my niece so I suggest you do not jump to conclusions, which are also offensive to me.
 
misstherese said:
She has some behavioral issues, like all four year olds, constantly wanting candy and always talking about her desire for material items like clothes and toys.
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The poor kid needs some positive playtime. Where is she getting exposed to ideas like this? TV?
 
Unfortunately, she lives in an apartment in the city with my sister who is a busy single mom and isn’t able to get as much outside play time as she’d like. She does spend the week at daycare, though, so I’m not sure where she’s getting these ideas. She watches youtube sometimes where she most likely is exposed to this. I’ve tried telling my sister the things that can show up on youtube sometimes, but she still lets her watch it.
 
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@misstherese
misstherese said:
She has some behavioral issues,.

I was just wondering, if she were baptized, could there be a change in her behavior? Even slight?
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You were clearly hoping baptism would change her behavior. Behavior you don’t approve. This is offensive.
 
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misstherese said:
Is it so absurd to think there might be noticeable changes?
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It’s not an absurd question at all. I think it’s a good question. And I don’t have a great answer. But I think that the sanctifying grace of Baptism requires acceptance at some point. I don’t think a four year old would be capable of a level of acceptance that would have any outward signs.
 
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All newborn infants are innocent and have no religion at all, thus there are no Catholic babies, jewish babies, etc, they are just babies, innocent and pure.
 
I really do not understand this. Baptism is a renewal. The Holy Spirit is born in the soul and helps the person become inclined to doing good things and creating a relationship with God. I’m not so concerned with her “bad behavior” per say, but the fact that she does not know God at all and only focuses on trivial material objects to the point of infatuation.
 
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misstherese said:
I’m trying to urge my sister to baptize her little girl who is four years now. She has some behavioral issues, like all four year olds, constantly wanting candy and always talking about her desire for material items like clothes and toys. Every time I watch her, I’m bombarded by her cries and whines for these things. I know it doesn’t sound so bad, but believe me, if you met her you would understand my frustration.

I was just wondering, if she were baptized, could there be a change in her behavior? Even slight?
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Is this a serious question? The answer is “no”, obviously. Its a sacrament, not a magic spell.
 
Thank you for the condescending tone. I think I’ll refrain from asking questions on Catholic Answers from now on.
 
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Actually this sounds like normal four-year-old behavior. Little kids love shiny, pretty things, especially when marketed to them by Madison Avenue
With maturity and guidance, she should outgrow this.
Baptism may help behavior in an adult who has walked the spiritual path and is open to the grace to overcome greed–because the adult candidate has chosen this sacrament and is taking this seriously.
:pray:t2:For you, your darling niece, and her mother!
 
No, of course not.

And infants are baptized because of original sin, not to cleanse them of their own sins.

These concepts are basic Catholicism.
 
Thank you. I’ve read up more on it and I can see now that human weakness still remains, even though the child does not understand what she is doing.

I’m 18 and just starting to learn about baptism. I also was not taught much at all about any of the sacraments because we had very poor catechist at my small town parish.
 
I’m sorry you were made to feel this way. Please don’t leave 😞
 
I don’t know if they still do it, but it used to be that on Saturday morning during the cartoons on TV, there would be all sorts of things being advertised for kids.

That is a way of getting kids to ask for things.

The use of reason takes time to develop. I knew once of a nine year old girl who ate mushrooms off the city parkway despite being told they could be poisonous. Same girl found a round blue capsule in with the jelly beans. She crunched it, and all the blue dye came out all over her. Stupid? Curious? Who knows.

The reason she said she tried eating it was no one told her not to!
 
Allow me to apologize. I should have used a different tone. I also did not realize you are a young person, not that that would excuse rudeness. My fault, and I apologize.
 
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