Have you ever wondered what other parents put in Quiet Bags for church?  We don’t really have “quiet bags” for our babies (infants); we just ensure we bring what we need in the diaper bag.  So when I’m thinking of “quiet bags for church,” I’m thinking primarily of older toddlers and up, and what we referred to, when I was growing up, as our “Bible bags.”  (We most often use small homemade tote bags, made in this manner — but to different measurements.)

That name probably offers a clue regarding the first of two key items we put in these.

Key Item #1 in Quiet Bags for Church: A Bible

A Bible is the primary thing in my kids’ quiet bags/Bible bags/church bags.  Hopefully the main reason for this is obvious!

We begin this practice well before the kids can actually read, though.  Even our toddlers carry their tiny little New Testaments with them.  Why?  Habit training.  They’re learning from the start that taking one’s Bible to church is simply what one does, and they’re being encouraged to model themselves after the older, more mature believers in their lives.

(They do the same thing during family worship at home.  The little ones still hold and open their Bibles, and “follow along.”  Or think they’re following along.  Because they’re copying us.  And that’s exactly what they want — for the young ones to copy the godly habits of their elders.)

As they get older and learn to read, of course they transition to carrying Bibles that they can read and actually follow along in.  But the little New Testaments are perfect for non-reading toddlers because they’re lightweight and easy to carry.

Key Item #2 in Quiet Bags for Church: Writing Supplies

The other major element in our quiet bags is writing supplies.

For the youngest ones, I often use a mini magnetic drawing board (like a pocket-size MagnaDoodle).  Like the tiny New Testaments, these are handy to carry because they’re very lightweight and compact.  They also don’t result in the production of a million tiny scraps of paper with scribbles on them.

Another good option — or a good option to transition to for preschoolers — is a mini clipboard with notepaper attached, and a pen, pencil, or other writing tool.  I prefer the clipboards with the flatter style of clip, again because they’re more compact and easier to carry in a bag together with a Bible.

Writing or drawing (or scribbling!) is an ideal church activity because not only is it a quiet activity that keeps hands busy, helping to prevent excessive fidgeting and helping little ears to focus, it’s also participatory.

Just like carrying a Bible he can’t yet read helps a toddler learn to model himself after the older Christians, so scribbling on his paper or drawing board enables him to “take notes” like the big kids and the grownups.  And we’ve found that this leads to a natural progression as kids learn, grow, and develop literacy.  First they scribble, then they draw, and eventually they take “real” notes.

What Isn’t in Our Quiet Bags

There are two things commonly found in church quiet bags that we omit from ours.

The first is toys.  I don’t necessarily think it’s bad to have quiet toys in a church bag, but I don’t find it particularly helpful.  Other than bringing a small doll they can “teach to behave in church,” toys are a distraction, not a means of participating in the service.  I do distract my infants to keep them quiet (because they don’t yet understand their environment); I don’t generally distract my toddlers and preschoolers.

If you have a toddler who can generally make it through most of the service, but tends to lose it near the end, it might make sense to switch to distraction at that point, but I’d encourage you to to supply him with the more participatory items first, and only pull out a distraction once you’ve reached that point where participation is beyond his capacity.  In other words, keep the distraction in your church supplies, not his.

The other thing we don’t put in our quiet bags is snacks.  In similar fashion, it can be totally reasonable to give a child a snack midway through the service if there’s too long a stretch from breakfast to lunch.  (Sunday mornings can be long!)  But I don’t feed my kids snacks all through the service and I recommend you don’t, either (unless a health condition necessitates it).

Not only can snacks be noisy and messy, it sends the wrong message.  Just as toys provide a distraction from worship rather than an invitation to participate in worship, so snacks are typically a distraction, an attempt to keep a kid’s mouth stuffed constantly to prevent noise.

If all else fails, and filling his mouth keeps everyone content and Mom and Dad able to worship, I certainly wouldn’t call it sin to give your child snacks!  But it’s better, if possible, to encourage quiet through means more focused on the reason you’re there.  And so, like toys, if you’re going to bring a snack, I strongly recommend keeping them in your supplies, not in a bag your child has access to.