Mommy, please put the phone down

In my head, I still think I do a good job of not using my smartphone in front of my son. That may or may not be reality: I have been working a lot lately, so I know he has seen me distracted by my phone. But the subject is on my mind a lot: When I am with my son, I should be fully with my son.

This is a struggle for a lot of parents - the phone is an easy way to stay connected to our jobs and to our friends. But it is a horrible way to stay connected with your children. (Notice I said children there. I am pretty sure that once your child has his or her own phone, you will find that you need to stay connected to them via the phone as well.)

My son needs my attention. Sometimes it is audible, "Mommy, come and look at this," and sometimes it is in those quiet moments when he is doing something on his own and I check in on him just to see what he is up to.

Our phones distract us from parenting. And even when our children are little, they can see that we are not fully paying attention to them. That is a pretty strong message we are unintentionally sending them.

Maybe the answer is a time out - for the phone. Put it in a space in the house and don't pick it up for a certain period of time. See how long you can go without it.

Does your phone have a time out spot in your house? Tell me in the comments.