Yeah, but no, this time it ain’t my kid.
Last Sunday this toddler sitting in front of me in church started frantically shouting, ‘Ba!’ in the middle of the preacher’s sermon – and a great sermon it was too. He became so loud that the preacher himself stopped in the middle of his message and made a light-hearted comment about his outbursts. So audible he was throughout the entire congregation that a younger baby sitting with her mum all the way in the front started echoing him. ‘Ba! Ba!’ she cried.
From my position directly behind the parents of the little boy (we’ll call him David), I could see that they were nigh on panic mode. His mother tried to close his lips together with her fingers and when after the fifth try or so she was unsuccessful, she dumped David into his father’s lap who promptly held his hand over the infant’s mouth. Struggling to deliver himself from his father’s iron grasp, the toddler’s barely audible Ba! Ba! were heard escaping in tones of grunts and groans.
As a congregation full of people of all ages, we’ve always maintained that little kids are our future (teach them well and let them lead the way, show them all the beauty they possess inside...) sorry I couldn’t help singing that. Anyway, our congregation has always embraced kids and babies and their noises. We take care of each other’s kids, and toddlers are known to stroll around and sit with various adults during the service. This is why I was actually a little surprised that David’s parents reacted with such embarrassment in the first place. That was until his four-year old sister shouted, ‘Ma, David’s saying bum. David’s saying bum in church, Mummy.’
Last Sunday this toddler sitting in front of me in church started frantically shouting, ‘Ba!’ in the middle of the preacher’s sermon – and a great sermon it was too. He became so loud that the preacher himself stopped in the middle of his message and made a light-hearted comment about his outbursts. So audible he was throughout the entire congregation that a younger baby sitting with her mum all the way in the front started echoing him. ‘Ba! Ba!’ she cried.
From my position directly behind the parents of the little boy (we’ll call him David), I could see that they were nigh on panic mode. His mother tried to close his lips together with her fingers and when after the fifth try or so she was unsuccessful, she dumped David into his father’s lap who promptly held his hand over the infant’s mouth. Struggling to deliver himself from his father’s iron grasp, the toddler’s barely audible Ba! Ba! were heard escaping in tones of grunts and groans.
As a congregation full of people of all ages, we’ve always maintained that little kids are our future (teach them well and let them lead the way, show them all the beauty they possess inside...) sorry I couldn’t help singing that. Anyway, our congregation has always embraced kids and babies and their noises. We take care of each other’s kids, and toddlers are known to stroll around and sit with various adults during the service. This is why I was actually a little surprised that David’s parents reacted with such embarrassment in the first place. That was until his four-year old sister shouted, ‘Ma, David’s saying bum. David’s saying bum in church, Mummy.’
This is a classic demonstration of ‘from the mouth of babes’ for had she not loudly shrieked this clarification, no one in the entire congregation (save her parents) would’ve known that their toddler stopped the preacher’s sermon with his extreme shouts of ‘Bum!’
If you’ve read part one of ‘Kids Can Be Funny, Can’t They?’ you’ll know that my own son shouted worse out in public.
Yeah, I’m still laughing about Sunday.
If you’ve read part one of ‘Kids Can Be Funny, Can’t They?’ you’ll know that my own son shouted worse out in public.
Yeah, I’m still laughing about Sunday.
11 comments:
Hi Anne,
Gotta love em! We actually have a nursery room off of the sanctuary with a speaker and large picture window so parents can quiet their children and hear/watch the sermon. An occasional outburst is expected but some children are extremely noisy throughout the service. It sounds like your church has a budding comedienne on their hands.
That's funny. Kids can be so sweet.
Thanks, girls. I'll be visiting your blogs soon.
That's funny..We had a few kids that interrupt the priest too, some time!
At least the kids have an excuse right? I've got four of them... =)
Thanks for visiting, Icy and T. Anne
LOL, what a story!
I remember myself how hard it was to sit quietly in church as a kid. For the tiny ones, it's even harder. Parents were always walking small ones out and then creeping back later.
The smartest church I ever went to conducted a separate service for small children just off the main hall. Then they brought them in near after the sermon. Their march in to join the rest of the congregation always had a special feeling for me, like the family joining together again.
Pak Karamu visiting your blog
That's so cute. It made me chuckle. Kids sometimes do and say such funny things.
Thanks for visiting, all. As you know, I've been very unwell. Sorry for not making contact before now.
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