{"id":14161,"date":"2016-04-19T14:07:15","date_gmt":"2016-04-19T21:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.momservations.com\/?p=14161"},"modified":"2016-04-19T14:07:15","modified_gmt":"2016-04-19T21:07:15","slug":"the-number-one-way-you-are-damaging-your-childs-potential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/2016\/04\/19\/the-number-one-way-you-are-damaging-your-childs-potential\/","title":{"rendered":"The Number One Way You are Damaging Your Child’s Potential"},"content":{"rendered":"

Momservation:<\/strong> Give a toddler a phone and they will be distracted for an hour. Put away your phone and interact with your child and they will be better people for a lifetime.<\/p>\n

\u263a\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u263a\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u263a<\/p>\n

\"distractedWhy would someone do that to a child?<\/p>\n

It makes me sad every time I see it. I saw it again today and I had to keep myself from saying something\u2014but really, should I have stopped myself? Because someone needs to give these people a clue that they are missing an opportunity for greatness\u2026<\/p>\n

I\u2019m talking about parents\/caregivers walking children in strollers yakking on their phones like multi-tasking maniacs or worse, with their earbuds in\u2014choosing to tune out instead of tune in to a child\u2019s basic developmental needs.<\/p>\n

It is the equivalent of someone walking up to you and saying, \u201cHi, what\u2019s your name?\u201d and instead of interacting you pull out your phone and pop in your earbuds, staring past them as if they are invisible. An artificial digital life more important than human interaction.<\/p>\n

Exact same.<\/p>\n

So gather round people because I\u2019m standing tall on this soap box and grabbing the microphone to tell you something that grown adults should know better:<\/p>\n

Put down the god-damn phone and be present!<\/strong><\/p>\n

And if you are the caregiver of a child and you are taking them on a walk\u2014for whatever reason: change of scenery, gotta get out of the house before you\u2019ll go mad, calming down a fussy child, routine, sense of duty\u2014interact with the child for the love of creating a well-adjusted, intelligent, emotionally stable individual!<\/p>\n

My kids are 15 and 16. And from the MOMENT THEY WERE BORN I never stopped talking to them. People in Target probably thought I was a crazy, sleep deprived weirdo as I walked down the aisles having a full conversation with my infant, \u201cShould we get some formula today? Do you think it\u2019s on sale this week? Oh look! Oreos! If Momma is going to survive this infancy stage that is like the Groundhog Day movie she\u2019s gonna need a lot of Oreos\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

When I drove my son to daycare on the way to work, his car seat facing the rear, I would sing songs to him the entire half-hour commute. And when I ran out of material, I made up new material:<\/p>\n

\u266a\u266b Mommy loves Logan, Mommy loves Logan, yes she does, yes she does!<\/p>\n

Mommy loves Logan, Mommy loves Logan, just because, just because! \u266a\u266b<\/p>\n

When my son was at preschool and it was just me and my toddler daughter, did I want to plunk her down in front of a taped from PBS loop of Elmo\u2019s World to complete the break I desperately needed from raising kids 17-months apart? Hell, yes.<\/p>\n

But instead, aware being blessed with the most important job on earth\u2014the nurturing and developing of a quality human being\u2014I put Whitney in a stroller and we sang songs together as we walked. We talked about where to collect acorns that we would throw in the creek (over and over and over again). I would sing \u201cFive Little Pumpkins\u201d in June for the millionth time every time Whitney said, \u201cPunkins again!\u201d<\/p>\n

Now this is where I get to brag:<\/p>\n