Little Kids and Funerals…

My grandmother died this week. She was a great lady and it was terrible to see her get sick over the past few years. I hope she’s in a better place now.

Anyway, we drove to NY for the funeral and couldn’t find a babysitter, so our 18 month old came along. It was probably bad parenting to bring her, but well… we didn’t have a choice. I’m hesitant to say that she added something nice to the ceremony - waving at everyone and saying hi throughout. And I really think that when my dad said some words and my little girl kept saying “Hi Papa!” - my grandma would have liked it like that. As far as my baby was concerned, this was a fun family gathering, with the same people making speeches as at my sister’s wedding a few weeks ago.

So, this got me thinking - do kids add to these family occasions, both good and bad, or should we keep them away? Should I try to guess what the person of honor would like, or does Miss Manners have standard protocol that I need to follow or face parental persecution?