In a few short days, Latter-Day Saints from around the world will assemble in various locations for the 180th Annual General Conference of the Church.
For my family, part of the preparation for General Conference involves finding suitable activities for our young children to do during Conference. The Friend magazine and online site is an excellent resource for such activities. As most parents with young children will attest to, keeping small children occupied during Conference is a challenging and sometimes daunting task. My wife and I find that providing snacks for our children during sessions is also a good way to keep them occupied and happy. For those attending Conference in meetinghouses, consider bringing snacks like fruit roll-ups or fruit snacks. These are generally easy to pack and do not create a mess. Some stakes set-up a television in the Primary or Relief Society room where parents with small children can watch Conference, without distracting others.
Along with the physical preparations for Conference, it is important to consider the spiritual preparations as well.
As part of your spiritual preparations for Conference, consider one or more of the following activities:
- Attend the temple
- Have a family and/or personal day of fast
- Go to a Church Visitors’ Center (if there is one where you live)
- Read the talks from the previous Conference
- Provide service to someone in your neighborhood
- Pray for the General Authorities who will speak
What are some of the ways you prepare for Conference? What do you do with your small children during Conference? Do you have a favorite activity or game for them? M* would love to have your share your thoughts and ideas.
Check out Kim Siever’s recent post on Our Thoughts for some good information on Conference talks.
Good suggestions, Brian. Conference preparation for me is almost like preparation for Christmas–every year, I commit to making this the best, most uplifting, most dedicated season, and without fail, I find myself still rushing around like a crazy person as the event draws near, only to collapse on the date with a sense of frustration over my lack of spiritual preparation.
May it not be so this year!
Thanks for sharing your comment, Scott. I feel much the same way. Conference always seems to sneak up on me! I wanted to attend the temple this week, but the Mesa Arizona Temple is closed this week!! D’oh!
Brian, watching all four sessions of conference with four children (from skeptical teenagers to rambunctious young ones) is extremely difficult. My wife and I hope to watch one or two sessions at home, and I will probably go to priesthood at the chapel. We have tried every possible trick to keep our young boys occupied, and none of them work. We love getting on the Bloggernacle and reading the summaries of the talks and then reading the talks in the Ensign after conference. That is the best we can do.
My six-year old and three-year old make watching Conference extremely challenging. We love our DVR for that very reason. We tape it and watch it later. I don’t know what I would do without it!
My stake utilizes the Primary room for Stake Conference, but it is still a challenge regardless of the setting. My kids will be good for the opening song and maybe the prayer. After that, all bets are off.
I can’t wait until they are old enough to sit still through Conference sessions.
We have our radios tuned to conference all throughout the house, and turned up loud (we live in Utah, so several stations carry conference). We let our children play and attend to them if they need us, but we are still able to (mostly) listen to conference, even while occupied with childcare or meal preparation and related chores. If we miss anything, we can watch later online.
Watching conference is a work in progress. We have the TV/computer turned on loud; with the rule of you have to be quiet, if you are in the room conference is being broadcast on. Little by little, year after year, they listen to a talk here or there, then a session or two, and finally as teenagers they choose to watch/listen on their own. I am not big on forcing, but allowing the spirit to witness in it’s own sweet time.