What is the first thing you do when you wake up, look at the phone or kiss your son? Surely many parents respond first, and it is not surprising, since more than half of smartphone users consult their mobile in the first 15 minutes of the day. We no longer know how to live without these little devices to which we are increasingly hooked, and to those who may even let's spend more time than our own children.
We do not realize the dependence we have on the phone, but we already talk about the new distracted parenting or when we look more at the mobile than our children. Children grow up too fast and if we miss their childhood while looking at the mobile screen, we will regret it. Why It doesn't affect your phone that you don't pay attention, but your children do.
Parents hooked on mobile
We are watching the mobile at all hours, also when we are with our children. When we go down the street with them, when we pick them up at school, when we are with them at home, during dinner and sometimes, even when it comes to accompany them to bed.
We do it without being aware of valuable time we stopped being with them for paying attention to the mobile.
In Babies and more "I was being the father I never wanted to be", a father's message about the use of mobile phones in front of our childrenAt the same time the abusive use we make of the mobile is the culprit of a new figure of physically present and yet absent parents. That is to say, we are next to them physically, but we are not paying the attention they deserve. We are not what we should be. If we really want to share "real" time with our children, being on the phone every so often is incompatible.
Disconnect from the mobile and connect with your children
The mobile interferes with communication with our children, besides being a bad example of responsible use. We cannot demand that you leave your mobile if we live hooked.
It does not imply that we have to disconnect completely because today it would be something incompatible with our lifestyle, but it does rationalize its use for the benefit of our children. We could spend all day connected, but surely for our children we can answer a message, look at Facebook or play with that application at another time.
Some tips to disconnect from the mobile:
It is not easy when you have become accustomed to consulting the mobile screen at all times, but we give you some tricks that you can put into practice:
- Leave your cell phone at home when you go out with your children.
- Do not answer calls or messages you can expect when you are with your children.
- Place the mobile in a basket when sitting at the table with the family.
- Silence the mobile when you are with your children.
- Put on schedules for mobile use: leave it for times when you are not with your children, such as when they are at school or after bedtime.
Your children will be children only once
Children are affected by our hyperconnection much more than we believe. Instead of looking them in the eye when they speak to us, we look at the screen; Instead of getting involved in their games, we are absent, instead of being interested in how they are, we are more aware of what happens on Instagram. It is normal for them to feel ignored.
The worst, and the saddest, is that our children end up getting used to ignore them. And since they don't demand attention, we don't give it to them either. This causes them to isolate themselves, to no longer even strive to tell us their things, marking a greater distance with our children, less communication and less time together.
Parents, let's wake up! (and I also apply the advice). That the mobile does not load our family life or make us the parents we do not want to be for our children.
They need our time, they need us to pay attention, Is not that difficult, right? Let's dedicate time to our children, to share with them moments of play, conversations and fun without the phone getting in the way.
