Put your phone down and parent

My son is sitting on my lap as I write this post. He is watching the way my fingers move across the keyboard and he is reading the words as I type them.

I try very hard to not use my phone too much in front of my son. Yes, it is very rewarding when it is my turn in a game, or I get a text message from a friend. But, he is my son, and he is much more rewarding to interact with than anything that pops up on that little screen.

I hope he know that. (He says he does know that. Also, he says he likes the button that makes the letters slanty.)

There are a lot of bad habits that parents try to stop when they have children (like smoking and poor diet choices). Phone overuse should be another one.

But why should we stop? Well, this article in Time talks about distracted parenting delaying a baby's ability to process pleasure.

Ouch.

Babies rely on their Mommies for social cues. That's just the way nature works. If a parent is looking at their phone, then the baby doesn't have a full view of the face to pick up on those cues.

It's hard to quit your phone - so start slow. Maybe just get in the habit of checking it at certain times of the day and putting it on mute so that you don't have the temptation of checking it every time it makes a noise.

Your child will notice the difference.

Want to take the media diet challenge and see how much screentime you really log in front of your child? It's only for the brave of heart, but it's good for those who want to really cut back. Tell me how you do in the comments.