Training Toddlers to Sit Still

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Do you ever get tired of wrestling your toddler? Do you ever feel like you are just putting out a fire or waiting for the next one to erupt? Well, after having five children in 8 years I had to come up with a better way. I couldn’t be wrestling the two year old still because by then I had another newborn in my arms and no husband in the pew to help me (he is the pastor of our church). And nursing a newborn is hard enough by itself but if you have to wrestle a disobedient toddler while doing it that can be stresssful and result in a screaming baby as well. Not a good combination for a mom’s sanity. So, I embarked on a mission to find a better way.

Samantha Jo
My first born is very strong willed and proved to be very difficult to “train” to sit still in any situation. So we would actually practice at home. Every day after lunch I would pull a dining room chair into the center of the floor and hold her on my lap. I would sit still and hold her facing out on my lap. I started with making her sit for three minutes quiet. This means that I didn’t start timing her until she stopped fighting me and screaming. After a couple days, she didn’t fight as long as I added another minute. By the end of two weeks she didn’t cry at all, she knew what she needed to do. So I slowly increased the time until my 1 year old could sit on my lap quietly with only one soft baby doll for 20 minutes. Does this mean that she did it every time? NOT AT ALL!! I still had to remove her from church at times but for the most part I could take her to any service or meeting and once I placed her on my lap in that position she would sit, many times even fall asleep, because it became a place of comfort and security for her. 
My big girls, a long time ago

Once Samantha came along it was an easy transition to the pew or chair beside me. She would still sit still and knew that once I said, “It is time to sit” there was no getting up without a consequence. Samantha was a different child and didn’t require as much intense training but I used the same method with her. In fact since I knew about it earlier, I started “training” her from about 3 months on. So by the time that getting bored and restless while sitting was even age appropriate her training was almost done. And now, five children later, this method continues to work well for us. By the time my toddler is 18 months to 2 years they are done nursing during the day so I don’t use that to quiet them during service any more but I have been positioning them on my lap and insisting on quiet for so many months that they still usually fall asleep on my lap during service. And when the morning nap is gone they are ready to move to the pew beside me with a simple book or doll for the duration of the service. And this usually happens just in time to make room for my growing belly!!

Even the best  trained toddlers have their moments!!

So, there you have it. My method of toddler training for sitting still during worship. It isn’t rocket science and it takes a lot of time and consistancy but anything worth doing is worth doing well and that is especially true of motherhood. Do you have any tricks or techniques that you use to train your toddlers to sit still during service? I would love to have you share them here or on my Facebook page as I think many mothers tend to struggle in this area.

3 Responses to “Training Toddlers to Sit Still”

  1. Angel B

    WOW!! That is a GREAT idea! I think I will try this when I have “eventually” have my next one! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

  2. Anonymous

    I’m a fidgety mother with fidgety children. I get them to be quiet in worship service, but being still is another story. Since I’m 37 and still fidget, wring my hands, play with my ink pen and bible marker and twist in my seat constantly, I settle for “quiet” with my kids, and we ALL just work on being still. LOL Maybe I should try this training on myself.

    Melody

    Melody