Children exposed to too much violence in the media, parents, teachers warn

[L Gilbert]

Most importantly I followed my father's advice and didn't take anything at face value because someone tells you so, which as I have said was quite evident in my dealings with the Sunday school staff.

Yeah. I hate testamonials, too; leaves too much room for editorialising.

 

[karrie]

Well, I could be tolerant of kids' behavior in church because I don't think formal settings are an appropriate place for the cute lil critters (same with formal education for kids). Not places condusive to the best learning. Kids learn best when they're interested and sitting in a pew waiting for some old geezer (no offense intended because to a 4 year old even a teen is an old geezer) to quit babbling away in words that are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay past the kids' comprehesion is just plain boring. And kids have short attention spans which makes these kinds of settings worse.

You're right when it comes to the kids not getting a lot of what's being said. I sit a kid in my lap, and we whisper quietly about what's being said. But, thank goodness for sundsay school... most of the mass that they're actually in the church for (unless it's my son and he's asleep in my lap), is fairly lively, so they don't get too bored. If they can't focus on the mass, then I just rub their backs, or we hold hands and snuggle. Just because they're not engaged doesn't mean they can't be quiet and respectful for what boils down to less than an hour of actual sitting.

 

[tamarin]

Gilbert, we spend a large part of our early lives discovering the romance of stupidity. Education can use some rethinking but most of what's been offered since the Bill Davis Living and Learning revolution in Ontario has been fruitless. Kids need discipline. And smart kids need it as much as their less talented peers. I look at young people today and the withering and waste of potential so many represent and think: if only a system had been in place that could push them more and expect of them more they might have been saved.
The country is dotted with parents whose kids are still at home at 30 and the latter still trying to find themselves, an art introduced by the child-centred gurus of the 70's.