If you have young children, the list of reasons why you might not want to include them in the worship service with you is not too hard to imagine.  Little kids can be loud.  They have a harder time sitting still.  They won't understand or remember everything that is said (do you understand and remember everything that is said?). 

It's easy to be discouraged by the thought of having to parent in the pew, especially if we have one or more little ones that need more attention and training than older kids.  But, if we believe that worship is a language, the best way to teach and train them is not to send them elsewhere and expect fluency to happen simply as they age, but to immerse them in it.  The best time to learn a new language is when you are very young!

Wiggly kids can be embarrassing and frustrating.  You may feel like the entire congregation is watching you, completely distracted and resentful of your child.  They aren't.  From my experience, most people love to see kids in worship and understand both the difficulty and importance of what you're doing.  If you are in that position and see a mom or dad with a young one with them, encourage them!  

Parents have been given the tremendously important task of discipling their children.  The church is here to help and equip parents for this great work.  As such, we want to provide you with help, encouragement, and resources for the journey.  So, don't fear the wiggles. The wiggles in worship are part of the growing pains that accompany training your child up in the way they should go.  With consistency, before long the wiggles will begin to turn into attentiveness, beneficial questions and discussions, and we pray by the grace of God, authentic worship.