Thanks, Pansy, I needed that too.
Going to Mass with our two-year-old has been nothing but painful for months now. He simply cannot stay in the pew -- he can usually last through the Gospel, but once the homily starts it's all over and he wants to roam in the aisles and disassemble the poor boxes. (It's not the money he wants, it's the shiny brass knob.) Or he is commenting on the candles at the top of his lungs: "CANDLES! CANDLES! HOT!"
We've tried the saintly picture books and the kiddie rosary; they are flung aside. We've tried pointing out the statues of Jesus and Mary; he likes them at home, but at Mass they don't catch his attention. Our whispered play-by-play of the Mass ("look! look at Father! see, he's getting ready to read to us about Jesus!") is equally uninteresting
Our parish does not have a cry room, and it doesn't have much of a vestibule, either; only a small unheated space to wipe your shoes and shake out your umbrella. So even removing him is not a good option.
So we've been attending Mass in shifts and bringing Hambet less frequently. It's not our ideal solution, but it's the best we can come up with until he's a bit older and able to sit still longer.
I share your disdain for cry rooms, by the way. The last one we went to was dark and smelly. I usually see four- and five-year-old children running wild, while their parents sit around (or even chat with friends) as if they are luxury-box spectators at a sports arena. The infants are usually the best-behaved Christians in the room.
