So what do I mean by distracted parenting? I think you can guess at most of it, but a lot of it has to do with phones. I know I have railed about technology in the past, but this time is more important than other times. Let me explain myself a bit first. I see parents, all over the place, staring at their phones. I see kids, of all ages, getting into things they shouldn’t, creating havoc for others, endangering themselves and their siblings, all while mom or dad stares at their phone. I see this all the time at work, and it always drives me crazy.
Does a child have to get hurt before the parent will put their phone down? Does someone else have to get hurt before the parent will pay attention? What will it take? I am not asking rhetorically here, either. What does it take for a parent to decide that he or she needs to pay attention to the child instead of the phone?
As a parent of a child who is now an adult, I can tell those of you with younger children that the time goes WAY TOO FAST!!! You will turn around twice and your little one will be grown. If you spend all of your time staring at your phone, your child will keep growing without you paying attention to him or her. And when the child grows up, he or she will remember the lesson that a piece of technology matters more than a relationship with a parent, or a sibling, or another person. So please, stop the distracted parenting. Your kids will thank you.