Should You Leave Your Baby in a Church Nursery?

If you have a baby or young toddler and attend church even occasionally, you have been faced with deciding whether or not to leave your baby in the church nursery. Perhaps you have a laid-back baby who doesn't object, or maybe you have shy baby who resists being apart from you.

The decision of whether or not to leave my baby in the church nursery when she's crying has plagued me since my first child was born. It seemed that almost every nursery attendant I encountered had a different philosophy and different advice for me. "Oh, he'll be fine," or, "He'll never learn to be happy in the nursery unless you leave him," are lines I heard several times.

I understood their approach, my baby didn't actually NEED me, he just wanted me, right? Then why did I feel this horrible sad feeling every time I left the nursery and could hear my baby crying? I suppose some of it had to do with the person who worked in the nursery. If it was one of those, "Leave him, he'll be fine (scowl)" people, I was more likely to berate myself for leaving him. I felt like the person I was leaving him with probably wasn't very sensitive to his needs and wouldn't be able to comfort him. However, if the person in the nursery was someone who genuinely felt bad for my little guy and immediately took him in her arms or offered a toy, I felt more comfortable.

Don't feel bad about keeping your child out of the nursery if he is distressed. The most important thing is that you feel good about your decision.

Credit: microsoft

Copyright: microsoft