I have a small annoyance to share with you. Perhaps it's all my problem and something that doesn't bother others. Though, I don't think so. But, in the spirit of openness and transparency (in case it is only me) I don't allow my family to read magazines within 3 feet of me or open any kind of packaging in "my space". So, here goes....
Why is it that parents think the only kind of child created noise that distracts others, say, in church or a movie theater, is talking or crying etc.? By this I mean... preventing your child from creating any type of verbal noise by giving him a paper bulletin to crinkle or a bible to flip through, page by finger-nail-on-the-chalkboard page is not a good "distraction". It's only distracting me from the reason I'm there!
I spent the entire sermon today clasping my hands together tightly so I didn't rip the Good Lord's Word out of some tiny little paws sitting directly behind me. I'm all for keeping children in the sanctuary to teach them how to sit quietly during the sermon( although, I'm not 100% sure I'm being honest about that). But, ahem... key word there is quietly. While I admire the parent who can totally ignore the whiny child begging for more cookies when we're sitting at a park or playground and keep talking to the adults till the child grows bored and wanders back to the swingset, I don't applaud the fact that a parent can zone out their kid and focus on the preaching while darling toddler is WRINKLING PAPER NONSTOP! If your child cannot sit quietly, can't they be given a stuffed Winnie the Pooh or something?
While I'm at it...if you are opening a pack of mints, cough drops, gum, whatever, in a quiet place, please don't drag out the process. Just rip it open quick and get it over with.
Oh, also, how have so many people not figured out that if you crush a bag or paper up into a ball, when you throw it into the trash it's only going to expand again, doubling the original noise. Unneccesary noise is another form of pollution. Stop the Pollution!
The Lord is great and worthy of our praise; no one can understand how great He is. Psalm 145:3
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About Me
- kibbe
- I'm a 46 year old mother who homeschools one, watches another homeschool herself and sends a third off to the dear little school on the other side of town. I'm a mom trying to come to terms that two of my offspring will be leaving this home and heading out sooner than I can grasp in my heart. I'm a mom who is trying to transition to that fact by slowly letting out the apron strings that bind them to me.
3 comments:
We had a kid randomly fall out of his seat TWICE in church, lol... causing a loud noise which typically is someones cane falling over.
I agree on the noise factor! I remember when we were little kids, we got to color all the 'holes' *read letters o, a, g and others* in the bulletin BUT if we started drawing, i.e. scribbling big hard lines, that was the end of that. As we got older, we drew a picture of something we heard in the sermon and then discussed our pictures during Sunday lunch (where wisely, my parents could correct what our young ears had heard on our level). Anyway, that all too be said... I can't wait to have little ones to teach to be quiet in church :)
He,he,he. As an avid gum chewer I do try to be careful to pick the gum wrapped in the quiet-ess paper but I probably cause a stir when I start passing it out down the whole pew:-)(But frankly, some of my family members need Sunday morning gum before they open their mouths to sing:-O
I am with you on the kiddie issue BUT it is a hard determination. Parents are good at tuning out their kids and not being aware of how distracting they are.
My problem on "my side" are some kids who are practically doing acrobatics in their seats and swinging their heads and bodies in every direction except towards the front! And these kids are well beyond the age where they should be taught to sit still!
THAT being said, I also understand that this parent and other parents often have a unique situation that might make them not pay attention to what is going on or have difficulty in taming their child down. AND I have had one child(you guess) who we kept in Children's church much longer than the siblings b/c this child had a harder time sitting still and I knew it was more distracting correcting that child every week!(I remember Damien saying, when I asked him, that one way for kids to "give themselves to God"(and Worship) Sunday mornings was to learn to sit quietly:-)
I would add that I've also been annoyed by hard-of-hearing old ladies who think they are WHISPERING but are really having quite a noisy conversation!!!
My suggestion: Try not to sit near the offender of perhaps speak to the parent 'cuz I'm sure they're not aware.
I learned the hard way to stay away from the area in front of the sound booth. I've also learned , while cleaning up after communion, that the people that sit in that area leave it totally trashed with ripped up and scribbled on bulletins. When we used to have the attendance cards in the pew, that was the area where the cards were used as drawing paper. I wonder if they realize how much card stock and printing costs the church?
Another pet peeve of mine, whhile we're venting, is someone who can't keep their legs still. They either cross them and nervously kick their leg in and out or jiggle their leg up and down. Gum cracking is another thing that can drive me to insanity. Chew your gum if you want but don't make me listen to it.
There now, don't we all feel better. :-)
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