Private Baptisms (General)

by rookancestrybest , United Kingdom, Saturday, November 27, 2010, 20:39 (5114 days ago) @ Shirleyanne

It stems from the belief that a child would not be allowed into Heaven (if RC, I'm not sure about other branches of Christianity there is the belief that such a child would be in Limbo instead), if s/he had not been baptised/Christened before s/he died. Thus: if there was a danger of the child dying before s/he could be baptised the family could baptise the child as an emergency measure. Often though, if the child didn't die another baptism could take place afterwards.
There has been another set of postings about this a year or so ago, see "Why Would A Child Be Baptised Twice" posted last January.