|
The Orthodox Pages
|
||||
Back
   |
|
|||
|
|
Hello can you please let me know are children allowed to colour or draw during liturgy or must they sit still. Ages 3 and 4
Answer to Question 543 Thank you for this question as it is something that I have never been asked before. When young children are brought for Holy Communion some are so terrified and react by screaming and fighting and our response to the parents or grandparents is that they should bring the children more regularly so that they can become more acquainted and familiar with the priests and procedure of partaking. It is a matter of learning and the same goes for their behaviour in church. They need to learn from a very young age why they go to church and what is expected of them. Some churches have a room for nursing mothers where they can take babies that are crying so as not to disrupt the service, but children ages 3 and 4 should be old enough to understand that Church is a place to pray and not a school playground or a place of entertainment. If you give them toys to occupy themselves or colouring books to past the time then what are you teaching them? You are telling them that proper church conduct is only for adults and they are free to behave as they wish during the time adults attend the service. We see some parents bring snacks to feed their children during the service to keep them quiet while others leave them run around freely because they feel that they are only children and shouldn't be told to behave. The parent has a responsibility to teach his child that there are places that he/she must be on their best behaviour and to sit still without making a noise. But children are children and can only obey for a short and limited time. If a child is brought to church from the start of the service you cannot expect it to remain motionless for 2 to 3 hours without getting restless. I raised 4 children and all of them were perfectly behaved in church, but the wife restricted their time in church to the last half hour of the service. I believe this is the best way to teach children to behave. When they are very young bring them for 20-30 minutes so that they can learn to be still and then as they grow older to increase the time according to their capabilities to understand that church is a place for prayer
|
|
||
