New challenges came about when parents would send siblings under the age of 12 years old to pick up their younger brothers and sisters after Children’s Church. This can create confusion and people can end up getting hurt.
One day my eyes were drawn to a couple of brothers who were only two or three years apart in age. They were standing in the hallway arguing. The older brother was trying to get his younger brother to coöperate with him and go to meet their parents. It was something like a power struggle, with the smallest one saying, “You’re not my boss!” As I made my way over to the boys, they quickly resolved the issue and went to find their parents.
Frequently the younger sibling will try to run away from the older one or the two children will stand in the hallway and argue. The younger sibling will rebel against the authority given the older one. Eventually both will get angry, stomp their feet, and walk away.
Another challenge was when the young children would run through the hallway, nearly running over others or yelling across the hallway at other children they saw. Others would try to stop in the hallway and talk to each other, nearly getting trampled by the children behind them. The children’s uncontrollable behavior, along with having about 30 children leaving at once, led me to add a safety precaution requiring the parents to pick up their children after Children’s Church. I didn’t want any children getting hurt in the confusion.
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