Screaming Babies at Mass

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anruari said:
Take that approach to a toddler and you’ll quickly learn 2 things:
  1. it is pointless. and will inevitably make them scream louder
  2. you’ll end up in Jail!!! And right;y so.
  • Yes children need to learn that there are consequences for their actions. but a baby or toddler is not an appropriate age group to even consider that type of corporal punishment.
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though I agree with you that corporal punishment is NOT okay for a baby, that verse doesn’t mean BEATING your child. It’s referencing the “rod” of a shepherd which is a symbol for guidance, not beating sheep over the head. 😉
 
I love what our priest has done. He posted a sign outside the cry room and reminded parishoners in the bulletin that if a baby carries on and shows no sign of stopping to make use of the cry room until the child is calm. The cry room still has speakers and parishoners can still participate in mass while watching through the window. The most important part of the message is that parishoners with children should rejoin the congregation as soon as the child calms down.
 
TWILL2010 said:
I love what our priest has done. He posted a sign outside the cry room and reminded parishoners in the bulletin that if a baby carries on and shows no sign of stopping to make use of the cry room until the child is calm. The cry room still has speakers and parishoners can still participate in mass while watching through the window. The most important part of the message is that parishoners with children should rejoin the congregation as soon as the child calms down.
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I’ve seen cryrooms misused with entire families in them even though the child is not crying. Sometimes there are more adults than children.

Besides, me growing up, there were no cry rooms.
 
jilly4ski said:
:rolleyes: Actually I missed the entire Eucharistic prayer, communion, and the final blessing last Sunday because I was out in the entry way of my church with a screaming tired child. I do take my children out if I need to, but I can’t stop them from crying during the few sec/min that it takes to realize if they are going to keep crying or calm down, gather the baby stuff, and make sure husband has the other child under control, and walk down to the back of church. This church was newly built, and doesn’t have a quiet room, just an entry way for parents to take unruly children, though sound is piped into the entryway. But that intervening time between when the child starts cry and when one finally gets the child outside probably seems like an eternity for you. (I even put the child’s face in my shoulder to muffle the sound as I carry the child out. So no I am not too prideful to go to the “quite room” because there isn’t one. (Nice judgement on your part by the way).0

I am not against taking children out of church when they need to calm down, but to suggest that children don’t belong in the nave with the rest of the congregation is extreme. Maybe people like you who can’t handle a little noise should have to sit in a sound proof room away from everybody else. :hmmm:

I am sorry if I came off offensive to you, but I was reacting to your extreme views that children don’t belong in church and by extension their parents (in order to receive the same graces by attending).

For context I don’t think I have ever been in a church where a child has cried more than 2 minutes tops. And if anyone has ever experience anything longer than that, I would suggest that would be a very rare case, with special circumstances (single parent, disabled older child, etc.).
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  1. I just love this “Dont judge me generation” as well .Dont refer to what Jesus aid about judging either this is something a bit different . Do something wrong and say dont judge me is what I am refering to sir .
    2.hmmmm I am an Extraordinary minister of communion and have no choice but to hear the noise for I sit up front a portion of the time .
  2. I welcome children but if they disrupt mass , take them where they wont , its that simple .
 
zab said:
And Mass is too important for there to be “crying” adults who do not want to be patient with parents who struggle with active/misbehaving/loud children at Mass even when they do everything they can to quiet them including taking them out or in the back when there is no cry room. And that is what the dispute on this thread is all about. There are some who do not believe that small children and babies belong at Mass at all. And if and when the little ones do act up- then they must have “bad” parents who cannot control their children. Some do understand that parents who take their children out are doing the right thing but they have no compassion or tollerance for the young parent who does not take out their misbehaving child. It is understandable to be annoyed. And all I am saying is that we should have an attitude of doing what we can to help these parents rather than having such an angry attitude towards them. Patience is not just a virtue to be learned by parents. Everyone needs to learn to be patient with others.
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DO not lecture me on patience sir I have proven to have patience beyond in my life . Couceling mentally ill people for several years now qualifies me as patience sir . I am saying what many more do about parents who do not know how to deal with a crying child in church . WE have two huge quiet rooms and many times these prideful parents will refuse to bring them in the rooms during mass . MASS Is TOO IMPORTANT TO Be DISRUPTED BY CRYING KIDS because their PARENTS do not know how to deal with the situation and you know that . If their church does not have one then perhaps its time they look for one that does .
 
TWILL2010 said:
I love what our priest has done. He posted a sign outside the cry room and reminded parishoners in the bulletin that if a baby carries on and shows no sign of stopping to make use of the cry room until the child is calm. The cry room still has speakers and parishoners can still participate in mass while watching through the window. The most important part of the message is that parishoners with children should rejoin the congregation as soon as the child calms down.
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That’s awesome.👍
 
JDee said:
Babies do cry and parents can do their best to settle them but I would rather hear the beautiful sound of a child’s cry than have a world where life is a choice and there are no baby cries.
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:rolleyes:Like those are the only two choices.
 
Defender1 said:
  1. I just love this “Dont judge me generation” as well .Dont refer to what Jesus aid about judging either this is something a bit different . Do something wrong and say dont judge me is what I am refering to sir .
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That’s rich considering this.
Defender1 said:
6.FOr the last two paragraphs : please refrain from getting fresh with me mam .If the truth hurts do not respond and if you cannot take the heat get out of the kitchen . You do not know who I am so do not make assumptions about me.I however will come to the conclusion that your one of the prideful parents who lets your child cry and disrupt mass because you are too prideful to go to the quiet room and still attend mass aren’t you?
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I didn’t and won’t refer to what Jesus said about judging. I just pointing out that your statement was rather… well lets just say 2 wrongs don’t make a right.
 
The non-parents/caretakers need to act like grown-ups and deal with the vicissitudes of life including tolerating screaming babies if the parents decide to keep the screaming child at Mass.

With all due respect, that attitude just gives some people enough of an excuse not to be courteous to others. (And, it spreads far beyond the walls of a church.) And, to imply that someone is not “acting like a grown-up” because they don’t want to listen to incessant noise, is disingenuous. I can tolerate a fair amount of noise, but when it gets to the point where I can no longer concentrate on the Mass, then the experience becomes meaningless. I would get more out of staying home. Or finding another place to worship.
 
Defender1 said:
DO not lecture me on patience sir I have proven to have patience beyond in my life . Couceling mentally ill people for several years now qualifies me as patience sir . I am saying what many more do about parents who do not know how to deal with a crying child in church . WE have two huge quiet rooms and many times these prideful parents will refuse to bring them in the rooms during mass . MASS Is TOO IMPORTANT TO Be DISRUPTED BY CRYING KIDS because their PARENTS do not know how to deal with the situation and you know that . If their church does not have one then perhaps its time they look for one that does .
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There must be some reason that the quiet rooms in your church are not being used more. Perhaps your priests should ask the parents what the problem with useing the rooms is. It is also rediculous to suggest that parents seek another church if the one they attend has no cry room. There are other things more important about a parish than whether or not it has a cry room.
 
Bayley said:
The non-parents/caretakers need to act like grown-ups and deal with the vicissitudes of life including tolerating screaming babies if the parents decide to keep the screaming child at Mass.

With all due respect, that attitude just gives some people enough of an excuse not to be courteous to others. (And, it spreads far beyond the walls of a church.) And, to imply that someone is not “acting like a grown-up” because they don’t want to listen to incessant noise, is disingenuous. I can tolerate a fair amount of noise, but when it gets to the point where I can no longer concentrate on the Mass, then the experience becomes meaningless. I would get more out of staying home. Or finding another place to worship.
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We went out to dinner tonight and there was a baby screaming there. Guess what? The parents didn’t allow their child’s noise to inturrupt the other diners; they calmed the child down within 30 or so seconds. If they’d been unable to, I guess they would’ve picked the baby up and taken him/her away from the tables until he/she quieted down. I’ve noticed that that happens most often when babies or kids are loud when we go out to eat. Perhaps some parents feel that if one has to pay for an experience, it’s worth it to show others some courtesy. :tsktsk:
 
jilly4ski said:
That’s rich considering this.

I didn’t and won’t refer to what Jesus said about judging…
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Beam and speck?😃

I like the double cry room idea. One for parents who wish to be courteous and one for adults who don’t think the parents are courteous enough.

I think both sides could spend some time meditating on Philippians 2. As a rule, if one finds himself getting too angry, then it is best to look inside at the problem rather than outside.
 
Nobody has mentioned that one of the very basic responsibilities of parents is the training of their children. I would think that training them how to behave in public is one of their responsibilities.

I have known “oblivious” parents who do not control their children no matter where they are. It is so much easier to let kids be kids. Then when the children become teenagers Mr. and Mrs. Oblivious can’t understand why they can’t control them.

In the pre Dr. Spock days, I wonder if the parents in Jesus’ day let their children raise cane in the temple? I really doubt it.
 
jameswa40 said:
Nobody has mentioned that one of the very basic responsibilities of parents is the training of their children. I would think that training them how to behave in public is one of their responsibilities.

I have known “oblivious” parents who do not control their children no matter where they are. It is so much easier to let kids be kids. Then when the children become teenagers Mr. and Mrs. Oblivious can’t understand why they can’t control them.

In the pre Dr. Spock days, I wonder if the parents in Jesus’ day let their children raise cane in the temple? I really doubt it.
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Very true. 🙂
 
jameswa40 said:
Nobody has mentioned that one of the very basic responsibilities of parents is the training of their children. I would think that training them how to behave in public is one of their responsibilities.

I have known “oblivious” parents who do not control their children no matter where they are. It is so much easier to let kids be kids. Then when the children become teenagers Mr. and Mrs. Oblivious can’t understand why they can’t control them.

In the pre Dr. Spock days, I wonder if the parents in Jesus’ day let their children raise cane in the temple? I really doubt it.
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I would agree. But this doesn’t apply to toddlers. There’s no training toddlers and babies.
 
This is why I tend not to sit near families. I’m there to hear the priest, not a kid screaming.
 
As a mom myself, I think it is important to be sensitive to our single moms in our midst. In our parishes there are many women whose husbands are deployed - and they attend Mass by themselves with mulitple children. It might be impossible for the mom to take out a baby when there are other children under her care - unless they all leave the church at the same time…wouldn’t it be wonderful for a grandmother to go over to the mom and offer to take the baby out for her??
It is amazing that the mom is trying to bring the kids to mass by herself – let’s honor her and not condemn her – if you approach her or a priest says something condemning from the altar - that may be the end of her participation in the Catholic faith…let’s be welcoming and inviting…
 
I hate the Noise of screaming babies (not the baby themself obviously)
But I have had MANY sermons and music totally ruined by a screaming kid in my pew!
 
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