Put Your Damn Phone Down

I am getting to the point where, when I see parents more interested in their digital devices than they are their children, I'm not going to be able to keep my mouth shut. Seriously people, put down your phone or whatever it is that is taking your focus off your children.

I've seen it firsthand. I've seen it in school when at parent night when a student was so excited to show his mom what he'd learn about coding on the computer. Mom couldn't take her eyes off her phone as she was texting with someone who was NOT HER KID. That child finally stopped trying to engage his mother and focused in on his coding. When mom was finished texting (this went on for a little over 20 minutes) she was ready to go. Not once had she interacted with her son. He was in 4th grade. Her message to him: the person with whom I was texting is more important than you. She's going to regret this one day. And she's going to blame their lack of communication on her son. IF she ever puts that damn phone down.

I've seen it when a mom and her three-year-old were sitting on a bench and the little girl tried, at first to engage her mom. After a few minutes, the child gave up and attempted to entertain herself. Finally, the little girl tried again, a bit more aggressive this time, and guess what mom did? She handed her daughter the phone to play with. The daughter lost interest in less than two minutes and gave the phone back to her mom who immediately went back into the phone zone.

Dr. Jenny Radesky was so concerned with this issue that she and two other researchers spent time studying 55 different groups of parents with young children in fast-food restaurants. No, it wasn't a scientific study, but it's still interesting that they found 40 out of 55 parents were on their cell phones or tablets when having dinner with their kids. Of these, 73% were totally absorbed with their devices, ignoring everything and everyone but the screen. This is ridiculous.

If you are not willing to spend time engaging with your kids, that is exactly what they are going to learn from you. So, when they get a little older and act like other people or digital devices are more important to them than you are, know that YOU TAUGHT THEM THIS. And certainly do not complain when, as teenagers, they do not communicate with you. You taught them this too.

As Radesky states,

"...that's a big mistake, because face-to-face interactions are the primary way children learn. "They learn language, they learn about their own emotions, they learn how to regulate them," she says. "They learn by watching us how to have a conversation, how to read other people's facial expressions. And if that's not happening, children are missing out on important development milestones." 

Put your digital devices down, people. Seriously.
If kids aren't motivation enough, remember the safety issue:

Have y'all ever felt like telling someone to put down their digital device?