Why Shouldn’t Kids be in Church?

by Letters Editor · Published February 27, 2018 · Updated March 5, 2018

I am writing this letter to explain why my family and I have stopped attending our local Catholic parish church. On Saturday evening, an elderly lady accused me and my two small children of being a terrible distraction at Mass, and that we should be in the crying room.

What was upsetting about her accusation is the rude manner in which it was executed: done in the form of gossip which turned into finger-pointing and “ganging-up”.

Immediately following Mass, she rallied a group of her friends and openly started lambasting me and my children. If she felt that aggrieved, surely the fair approach would have been to approach me directly and having a one-on-one discussion to understand the situation.

For personal reasons and out of respect for another family which attends Mass and utilises the crying room, we have decided to sit in the main church area.

I spend an hour before Mass each Saturday preparing activities for my children so that they can sit quietly. And despite a few whispers and some wriggling, they are extremely well-behaved in Mass.

Part of the Catholic Community

So I would just like to pose a question to the woman who accused me last weekend: isn’t a slight distraction a small price to pay for allowing a mother and her small children, aged 3 and 5, to become part of the Catholic community; one in which people are supposed to love and support each other?

We all have our struggles. Church is a place of reverence and quiet worship; I understand this. I am teaching my kids this through attending Mass every weekend.

But church is supposed to be a family, and that means support and tolerance within the community.

The demographic of this referenced community is approximately 90% over the age of 50. Without supporting and encouraging young families, this aged demographic will extend and, of course, result in a community decline.

I have been attending the Catholic Church since I was born, and it has always been my place of comfort and acceptance. For the first time ever, this has been shaken, and this deeply wounds me.