Six ways to survive the 10-hour Good Friday service with your little kids
Good Friday is almost here! I personally don’t feel the joy of the Feast of the Resurrection until I live through the holy Pascha Week, then Good Friday, and finally, Apocalypse night.
Last year, with my three year old, I could barely enjoy a few hours in total of the entire Holy Week.
This year, I am determined to enjoy Holy Week with her and hopefully, survive Good Friday together. Here are six things that I am planning to do that have worked for me in the past. I hope they will also work with your family!
Go in with a new mindset. It’s okay if you don’t enjoy the whole 10-hour service. You have little kids. They will not be this young forever. Soon they will grow older and you will be able to enjoy Good Friday again. For now, pick the best time for you and the kids to enjoy the service. This time frame, of course, coincides with your favorite prayers and when your kids will not be cranky, hyper, or whiney, and can be occupied with the following five ways to keep them busy.
Food. Lots of it with variety! It’s obvious that you will pack some snacks but don’t forget you are spending breakfast and lunch in church. And you don’t want to make a quick trip to McDonald’s in the middle of service either. Pack enough for two meals, in addition to lots of snacks, because your kid will be a very picky eater on Good Friday. Remind your kid to step outside of church when they are eating their snacks.
Pack your bag with little toys from DollarTree or the 99C store. I was shocked that my daughter would play for hours with one dollar toys and enjoy them more than her more expensive ones. If you visit these stores, you’d be surprised with the goodies you can get with just five bucks. In the past, we’ve also found a wonderful Bible story collection. Linked here are few items that my daughter loves to play with. Bible games, Bible coloring books, pony with brush, puzzles, building blocks. I also added my daughter’s dry erase activity book and Sacraments Quiet book that I made for her to the bag.
Split the time between your spouse and family members. Make a plan with your family members and spouse where you will split the hours of the day among yourselves so you can spend a few hours focused and praying without interruption (if you’re the mom, HA! yeah right!)
Take turns with other parents to watch the kids. If you have a crying room and your child can’t sit still in church, great! Make a plan with other parents in which each parent takes a turn watching all the kids playing in the crying room, while the rest of the parents are praying inside the church. It’s important, however, that the child spends some time inside of church to experience the beauty of this day and to take the blessings of the prayers.
Take frequent breaks. Hopefully this will help so that the kids don’t get bored easily.
May you have a blessed Holy Week and a joyful Feast of the Resurrection
Note: this article has been reprinted and edited with permission.
Martina Hanna is a mom to a preschooler and a Sunday school servant. One day, she decided to put her crafty hands into good use and make products that help kids enjoy growing in the Orthodox faith and stay connected to the Church as they grow older. Her work led to create the We the Copts website to sell her products and humbly share her experience as a mother and Sunday school and Choir servant.
