I know every family is different but these are things that work AWESOME with our littles at church.

One of the best things EVER is pipe cleaners and cheerios. It is so simple, cheap, keeps them busy, and involves a healthy snack instead of sugary stuff. If they are too little to put the cheerios onto the pipe cleaner, you can help or put them on yourself, and they can enjoy taking them off and eating them! Pipe cleaners are the better option over string or wire because the fibers keep cheerios in place so they can’t just slide off! Soo genius I can hardly stand it haha! Our daughter likes to bend it into a bracelet when she’s done and wear it.

I keep bottled water in our bag so we aren’t feeling pressure to leave for the drinking fountain if our kids get thirsty. I’m a huge water-drinking advocate so it doesn’t feel right telling my child no when they are thirsty.

The coolest product offered out there that my kids never get sick of are the “Water WOW” activity pads by Melissa and Doug. There are several thick pages on a ring that color when water is applied, and they each come with a refillable water pen! Literally you just untwist the bottom, fill it up with water, and then do it again once the pages dry. The kids love uncovering hidden things on the page in the trees, in the buildings, everywhere! It’s the answer to a lot of problems I’ve had with dry erase boards, kids eating crayons, you know what I’m talking about, Momma! Totally mess free unless you spill the water upon refill, but hey water dries! Oh yeah, and a cool money saving tip is this: The water pen tip will get frayed after a bit which makes it difficult to use, so instead of buying more water pens I just use wipes! I’ll pour a tiny bit of water onto a wipe and let them dab at the board. I also do this if we just plain lose the water pen!

Another thing I love to keep on hand are these sticker sheets. Their price fluctuates so I like to buy them in bulk when they lower in price. There are a variety to choose from and the options are awesome for the kids to create something different each time, even if they need a little help getting the stickers off. I just have them use the back of the sticker sheet to put them on! Sometimes my kids will want to color a scene behind their creation as well. They are limited to one each at church so they learn to be creative with all the options each sheet gives and there aren’t too many stickers everywhere.

Gummies are a great asset in the church bag, when used with temperance! That’s one item we get at Costco. I only bring one gummie package per child. We usually hand them out when there is 15- 20 minutes left of the meeting. That way it’s like the best for last and we can use it as an incentive to “be good”. Gummies are fun to take a small bite of and stick on your toddlers face! It may not be the most reverent thing, but it extends the life of the gummies into a sort of game where they feel for it and pull it off and in turn, extends your ability to stay in the meeting and catch a few words of the speakers! We also prolong the life of a pack of gummies by holding out our fists and having our child tap one to guess which hand holds the gummy. If you’ve never done this you won’t believe how much they enjoy it! You can even do the game with a small toy, or switch so they hold out their fists for you!

We make books part of daily life, so I bring 4 books in our bag since we have 4 kids, and they can trade with each other. I try to make them more church-oriented, but sometimes I’m in a hurry and am happy to just grab 4 books on whatever, as long as there are lots of pictures. 

I try to bring a small toy for each child. We don’t allow toys that make noise, but since I pack the bag it’s not usually a problem unless someone sneaks one in! Toys I will choose will be things like a sandwich bag half-filled with legos, a matchbox car in a tiny box, a baby doll with a bottle, or a hair brush and a pretty bow clip.

WIPES! Every church bag needs wipes. You just never know when your cutie (or you!) will need one. It’s amazing how fast their hands get sticky or you get to church and realize breakfast is still smudged on your child’s face. Their use doesn’t just include diaper changes! I also like to pull one out and stick it on my baby’s head just to see them smile and take it off over and over. Unfortunately, this behavior usually results in them wanting to put in on YOUR head haha! So try having them put it on a doll’s head or maybe hide a toy by covering it with the wipe in a game sort of like peekaboo.

The most expensive thing I ever got for church as one of these fabric quiet books. There are a few to choose from but at 40 bucks retail, I couldn’t buy one for a while and they rarely go on sale. I used a 25% off coupon on the day after Thanksgiving sale at Deseret Book and made it a family Christmas present. I’m very proud of the book choice I made because I thought it through and got one that zippers shut (the exact one in the link above). It ended up being very well loved by our kids and a great educational tool. I would NOT recommend any of the books that don’t zip shut…I bought one on a great deal a few years later but the pieces were scattered within weeks.

One game we like to play is to stick a small toy, cheerio, or piece of paper in their sock or somewhere. They think it’s hilarious to find it and pull it out but they may need help to get it out if they are getting frustrated.

When my oldest turned one, we noticed that he loved putting money in money banks SOO, I turned it into an activity for church. I washed a little prescription bottle, cut a slit in the top, and filled it with washed quarters or big buttons that I could find. I would hold the pile of coins in my hand and he would stick the quarters into the slot one by one. He absolutely loved this, guys! Very easy thing to put together.

The last thing worth mentioning to me is this buckle whale. I couldn’t believe how much they were when I looked them up online but it’s quality made to last so it’s been through a few kids, washable, has a zipper pouch to hold things, and its fun for the kids to learn to match the colored buckles to the correct side! I had a friend mention she would worry about kids pinching fingers and I had that thought too, but it didn’t end up being a problem for us! The buckles arent terribly tight or snappy so it’s perfect. I ended up getting this for Easter for our daughter and it gets passed down to the next cutie when one of them grows older and loses interest.

We try to have out kids sit on the bench as much as possible but if they are toddlers we are pretty lenient about them standing on the bench to gawk at the people sitting behind us (with us hanging onto them so they don’t fall of course). They can also stand on the floor to play with their toy on the seat, etc. Once they are preschool age we pretty much make them sit on the bench the majority or the time but will occassionally hold them on our laps for a few minutes. When our littles cry or scream they get taken out if we can’t calm them down in a minute. The key to taking them out is not let them feel like it’s a reward. I don’t give any toys, treats, or attention until they can calm down. I usually hold the child without interaction or keep them seated on a couch by me. We don’t let them walk around, so it makes them want to go back in where they can get toys and a snack and move around a bit. The exception to this is if they are crying because they hit their head or got hurt somehow. Then of course lots of loves and hugs until they aren’t owie anymore, but I still don’t let them get down and run around. I WANT them to want to go back in or they will act up just to go out.

Church only happens once a week so I feel it’s really important to show our kids that we want to be there and how important it is to us. We don’t want it to be a miserable experience for them but we also want to provide activities that are church oriented and quiet so we can pay attention to the speakers and partake of the sacrament which is the reason we are there. If they see how important church is to us and that we are trying to pay attention, our example will hopefully rub off onto them (even though it will take a few years)! I would really love to hear things in the comments below that you have found helpful at church with toddlers, so feel free to share!

Happy church-going!

Jexi