Are you bringing your child to Mass for the first time this Christmas? It is difficult to know what to expect, especially if you haven’t been to church in a while.
If you have young children, you may wonder if your child will be able to sit and be quiet for the length of a complete Mass. You might wonder what you can bring with you to Mass to help them stay—somewhat—still and quiet.
As a mom of five kids and a grandmother of several preschool-aged children, I have a few tips for parents who are looking for ways to facilitate a beautiful Christmas celebration at church. Or at least ideas that might help you get through the first 30 minutes without having to step outside with them!
How can I prepare my child to attend Mass?
Is it even necessary to prepare a three-year-old or an eight-year-old child for Mass? And how do we do it? Do we train them to sit on a hard chair for an hour without getting up?
No.
Think about taking your child to a football game. It isn’t about buying them enough hot dogs to keep them busy (though hot dogs do help!). It is about teaching them to understand the spirit of what you are doing and what is actually going on in the game.
Read this article for some practical, easy ways to prepare yourself and your child for Mass and to make it “make sense.” It will go a long way in helping your kids to be engaged and invested.
What You Can Bring to Keep Your Kids from Crawling Under the Pew
If you bring something to Mass to occupy your child, hold off as long as possible in bringing it out. You don’t want to use up all your “tricks” in the first 10 minutes! Some kids might be able to pay attention and imitate the behavior of the adults better than you think, especially if you have prepared them and they know what is going on.
My Golden Mass Rules: the simpler and fewer the choices and activities you make available to your children at Mass, the better. When it comes to babies and toddlers, remember that any hard object will make a loud sound if it is dropped…or thrown! Absolutely no electronics! (Also, it is tempting to bring food to Mass to occupy your child, but for several reasons, I don’t recommend it. It can make a mess and be a distraction, but the most important reason is that when we expect our children to refrain from snacking, it demonstrates to them the difference between attending Mass and watching a movie or attending a concert.)
Anything that keeps your child quietly busy at Mass can be brought to Mass, as long as it is not noisy or distracting.I suggest items and activities below that will help your child start to understand the nature of religion and worship. The distinction between a children’s book about Taylor Swift and one about the Christmas story may not seem like a big deal, but the stories and activities you provide them with are foundational in teaching your children what to value and providing them with a worldview.
Books, Ages 2-5
- A Missal for Toddlers (a book about the Mass)
- The Beginner’s Bible The Very First Christmas
Books, Ages 5-9
Beyond Books
- Catholic Family Crate sells a fantastic resource called a Mass Ring that can help your older children follow along during the Mass.
- Purchase a Bible-based activity book. I have used Bible Hidden Pictures with my 4 year old grand-daughter, and she loves it.
- While I can not personally recommend it, My Pray and Play Busy Board Book looks amazing! It has quite a few pieces to it, but they are soft and they Velcro into the book.
“Last-minute” what-to-bring hack:
- Wrap a (soft) doll in swaddling clothes and have your child “take care of baby Jesus” during Mass.
- Have your child go with you into the store and buy a flower to give to baby Jesus or to Our Blessed Mother at your church after Mass. This will give them something to look forward to during the Mass. Offer this token of love by helping your child lay the flower close to a statue or next to the Nativity scene found in most churches this time of year.
- You should be able to find Nativity (Christmas) stories or Bible-story coloring books and religious stickers at your local stores, such as Hobby Lobby and Walmart.
- Go to my author website and print off a Mass-themed coloring page and a Christmas-themed coloring page. Grab three crayons and—voila—you have an appropriate at-church activity. (Wrap a rubber band around the crayons so they won’t roll or use triangular-shaped ones!)
- Give an older child a little notebook and a pencil and encourage them to write a list of people they want to pray for at Mass. When Mass is over, you can even pray through the list together.
- Bring some sort of reusable drawing board and have them draw pictures of the items they see in the church, such as the crucifix. There are plenty of statues and pictures children are interested in looking at and learning about.
Final Advice About Going To Mass With Kids On Christmas
One final bit of advice: Mass is not meant to be “fun,” so you don’t have to try and get your kids to see it as fun. Mass is meant to be life-changing. It is reverent, set apart from the mundane. It is designed not to entertain us, but to help us repent of our sins and worship God, who is worthy of our thanks, praise, and love.
When it comes to attending Mass with children, keep things simple, keep things meaningful, and try to prepare your children ahead of time. Going to Mass and bringing your kids with you is one of the best things you’ll ever do! You’ll find that Mass is an ideal opportunity for your family to draw close, both physically and emotionally, as you focus on what is most important in this earthly life. Getting to heaven!
More Resources To Help Take Your Kids
Watch this video that will walk you through the parts of the Mass with great explanations.
Image: Photo by Julia Coimbra on Unsplash
