It seems as if we as an American culture have lost the skill of parenting. I see a lot of parents at my job and in all the different doctor’s offices I’m in. As a society, we just don’t seem to be parenting well. I think there are a lot of different reasons for this, and I’ll touch on those in other blogs. But I wanted to concentrate on one thing today.
So, this is my best and possibly shortest parenting advice: PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN!!!!
When you’re snuggling your baby, put your phone down. Don’t scroll on tiktok or snapchat or instagram or X or whatever platform is your preference. Look that baby in the eye. Talk to that baby. Tell that baby what color outfit they have on. What letter their name starts with. What sound that letter makes. Tell your baby how much you love them. Anything. Just put your phone down. Connect with your child. Look them in the eye. Let them know they are more important than what is going on with that phone.
Your toddler comes in the room and pulls at your hand? Put your phone down. That toddler needs to know they are more important than anything that is going on with that phone. Your school aged child gets in the car after school? Put your phone down. (And don’t immediately hand them a phone or tablet.) Talk to them. Ask them about their day. Connect with your child.
Your middle or high schooler comes to talk to you? Put your phone down. They need to know that they are more important than your phone. These phones are great, and we all use them for work and for leisure. There is nothing wrong with that. But when you have to finish watching your reel before you can respond to your child, we are sending the wrong message there. These phones may connect us to 500+ followers, but they often disconnect us from the most important people in our lives. We need to be careful
about that.
Sometimes my children will interrupt me when I am working on my phone. I say to them, “Let me finish what I’m doing because I want to give you the attention you deserve. Mommy is working on something right now. Let me finish, and I will give you my full attention.” And then I do just that. And guess what? My child feels validated and connected to me because I finished my task and then gave them my undivided attending
