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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to not want to baptise my babies?

156 replies

TheMummyJade · 31/10/2024 04:11

Hi! So basically, my eldest is baptised as per request of both sets of grandparents, because my husband and I both enjoyed growing up surrounded by people in the faith, and because my husband and I want to enrol him in the local Catholic primary school. However, we didn't when it came to our second son because we had both just been starting new jobs, moving into a new house, and were busy with two young boys. Now that I'm due with 3 babies, I don't think we'll have the time, or that we really need, to baptise them. Neither my husband or I are practising Catholics, however both of fathers are, and our mothers just think it would be nice for us to have them baptised. I also feel a bit silly if we were to have 4 out of 5 kids baptise and our second son isn't.
Thanks in advance Mumsnet, and thank you for all the love and advice on my last thread 😊

OP posts:
User37482 · 31/10/2024 04:50

I would, really helpful for school as a just in case. Plus they may want to get married in church at some point. If they are non practicing/atheist as they grow up then it will make zero difference to them.

MumChp · 31/10/2024 04:43

Then don't. It is not an obligation to baptize children.

However, triplets can come early and be fragile depending on the circumstances.
You may be asked to decide on emergency baptism but this is of course not that often.

MumChp · 31/10/2024 04:39

Sheri99 · 31/10/2024 04:36

Get it done, all of them.

No one knows the time and place of disaster. The last thing you want to do is have a funeral of a child and realize you didn't make time for the most important thing in this world.

If your faith isn't strong enough to baptize your child you won't believe it to go to hell at it's death because of it's not baptized.

TheMummyJade · 31/10/2024 04:36

@Happyinarcon Yes, I agree with everything you've said, especially in thinking that people will think it's irrelevant, particularly because I said my husband and I aren't practicing Catholics.

OP posts:
Sheri99 · 31/10/2024 04:36

Get it done, all of them.

No one knows the time and place of disaster. The last thing you want to do is have a funeral of a child and realize you didn't make time for the most important thing in this world.

Happyinarcon · 31/10/2024 04:23

I would get it done if I was you and get all 4 baptised together if you can. I got my child baptised as a toddler (I don’t know anything about age limits tbh). It’s a pain to organize a Catholic baptism as an adult and I wish my parents had baptised me. It doesn’t mean your kids have to be religious, it just means if they choose to go in that direction as an adult they already have the paperwork so to speak.

I imagine there’s going to be a lot of comments about it being irrelevant nowadays, and it was irrelevant if me for a large part of my life, but now I have started going to church and it’s a big part of my life.