Mommy!! Can You Hear Me?

What is it that is so important that her stupid phone takes priority over her toddler at the park?  Why must her phone be connected to her eyes and her ear when her child is tugging at her arm trying to get mommy’s attention to what is going on in the present moment?  Isn’t the point of being with your child “being” with your child?  What type of message is instilled in the child and how will it affect the way he treats others in the near future?

Which is more important to you?

Well, that last question can be easily answered, and if I can figure it out, how come mommy with the smart phone attached to her body like a new limb doesn’t get it?  The message being sent to this poor child is that the person who is the ruler of his world, the light of his life and the apple of his eyes does not give a flying leap that he climbed the first rungs of the ladder to the slide all by himself.  His accomplishments of playing at the park, running as fast as his little legs can go and the joys of making the swing move, is unobserved and his victories are shared with no one and mommy’s phone is more important than he is.

I can foresee the future with this type of parenting and I wish I could do the same when picking the winning lottery ticket, but unlike the odds of winning the lottery, being a mom to your child is already a surefire winner if mommy would just pays attention to her child and not her phone.  The time and investment that is spent on the phone is apparently more worthwhile then the time spent with her child?  Sounds ridiculous when put that way, but how many times have we seen this situation with our own eyes?  Unfortunately, this scenario is a common theme for the modern day mom.

Like parenting in the past, the new generation of parenting has its flaws.  Parenting today has many distractions and the smart phone is definitely one of them.  Technology is a wonderful tool, but it can never replace the laughter of a small child.  Let’s not teach the next generation that ignoring a person that is cared about is the norm, instead, put the phone away and live in the moment of a park day because in a blink of an eye… that moment is gone forever.

And now, the part where I might get some hate mail… mommy with the smart phone, if you’re reading this, ask yourself this question… why did you become a mommy if what matters most to you is your phone and not your child?  You obviously have no quality time to spend with him and he’s doing his best to communicate with you to get your attention… but, the phone is more important.  Not even a grunt of acknowledgement for this child that mastered the ladder to the slide.  The phone will be there when he turns 18, but when you call him, will he answer?