We have family devotions at night right before bed. Several weeks ago, I noted that Bethel had begun showing an interest in what we were doing (we required her to be in the room, and play quietly, but she didn’t have to sit down with us). So Lee started pulling her up in his lap while he read. Typically, she’d sit for a minute, and then climb down. Lee let her do this. Then after awhile, he told her to stay with us, and then he’d direct her attention to the picture or something. After a few days of a little squirming, she has started sitting still and cuddling up in daddy’s arms. She does look at the pictures, and occasionally points something out that interests her.
She still is learning to be quiet during prayer time, though. She wants to giggle with David. For some reason this setting is different than other prayer times when she doesn’t have any trouble being quiet.
I’m interested that several months ago, she had a very hard time sitting down, even when we asked her to. It is also interesting that it took a few days for her to figure out what she was expected to do. We should be careful after a single trial run of something drawing a conclusion like “That won’t work.” Because David is getting to the age where in many churches children stay in the adult service, I’m keenly aware of what he needs to learn. He does a pretty good job, but he still has difficulty. Perhaps I need to give it some more time.
Michelle