If you want to make people mad suggest that parents make an effort to control their children during Mass. You will called mean, judgmental, nasty, a child hater, a sour old maid or a bitter old man, and a bad Catholic. I say "phooey" to most of that because I've seen way too much.
At my parish Sunday Mass I watched a moment of whimsy almost turn bad. A child was lying on the floor probably because the cool stone felt good. Normally I wouldn't even mention this but he wriggled into the aisle during Communion. I guess he wanted to get a good look at people's shoes as they went by but he scooted out just has Rocky and an elderly man were going down the aisle. The elder deftly stepped over the kid and Rocky shifted to the side to avoid him. The parents just sat there and then suddenly the red faced father grabbed his child and went to the vestibule. Folks, Jesus said to let the little children come to Him but He did not say let them run wild. No decent person wants to see your child get burned while playing with the candles. Nobody wants to see your unattended young child get squished by the eight foot tall, solid oak door he was playing behind. None of us wants to see your child fall down the choir loft stairs, and truly, nobody wants to kick your kid in the face because he got underfoot. Sometimes people are frowning not because they are meanies who need to learn patience but instead they're because they are good souls who are genuinely concerned for your child's sake.
Posts
