Since we started homeschooling my middle daughter,
I take my other two kids to school every morning.
My seventh grade son jumps out to be on time, but my first grade daughter doesn’t start until 8:15, so we get an extra 10 – 15 minutes to spend some one-on-one, high-quality, undistracted time together — or what my daughter calls, “time to relax.” 🙂
I cherish this time, and I learn so much. It’s been a completely unexpected blessing for me. We laugh and play for 10 minutes straight, and that 10 minutes has given me and her life.
It’s simple and loving, and it’s become a model — for me — of how life and relationships should be.
I see another mom with her son,
but their dynamic is different. I don’t see them hugging, playing, or laughing. She sits in the front and he sits in the back until it’s time to go. She then walks him over to class.
The kicker? She’s on her phone the whole time.
She’s either holding the phone, talking on the phone, or looking at her phone. Even while walking him.
Every morning, the same thing.
In ten years, do you think she’ll remember the text message she sent, or the Facebook post she saw, or the one email she replied to, or the phone call she made? Or will she regret not having given her son all of her attention for a measly 10 minutes before he goes to school for 8 hours?
And of course, all of the crap she did on her phone could’ve waited 15 minutes until she left or got home or got to work.
Is it really worth it to steal 10 minutes of quality time from your child?
Please put your phone away. Put it on silent, hide it, and look at your kids.
They need you. They are dying for your attention. If you don’t think so, it’s probably because they are sedating themselves with electronics too, to cover up the pain.
