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Monday, February 3, 2014

When You're With Them, Be WITH Them.


"This has got to be one of the hardest habits for me to break."



let me start off by saying, i love my son more than anything. he is my world. but being 10 months old, sometimes he's not all that "exciting" to be around. I'm not the kind of mom who sits and plays with her baby all day long, 24/7. he has his alone playtime, and i have mine. but when i AM playing with him, i am noticing more and more that I'm not actually WITH him. This has got to be one of the hardest habits for me to break.

Computers, Social Media, iPhones, TV's... yes, we love all of these things and sometimes, being a SAHM these things mean our sanity. but how often are we using these things when we should be with our children?

i am SO guilty of this! When I'm playing with Oliver and he's not being the best "entertainer," i find myself pulling my phone out of my pocket and going on Instagram or checking my Facebook. i figure, "Well I'm still in the room; I'm still sitting on the floor next to him; that works for our "together time."

NO WAY!

when you're with you children, be WITH them.

this has been very hard for me to learn but it is SO important to remember.
it is extremely easy to turn on the TV for you or your child so it makes your playtime with them easier. or to sit your baby down on the floor and check your e-mail or Facebook.

sometimes i even find myself taking pictures of Oliver being cute (as usual) and it's totally harmless, but when i sit there for ten minutes editing the picture and posting it on my Instagram and then continuing to scroll through my news feed... that's when it becomes wrong.

one day i was feeding him his breakfast and he was taking forever to chew each bite (even though he has no teeth yet) so i pulled out my phone and started scrolling through my news feed to waste time while Oliver was chewing. he then grunted and took my phone out of my hands and threw it on the ground. MY 10 MONTH OLD!!

yeah, that hit me hard!

since i don't dedicate my ENTIRE day to playing with my son one on one, i OWE him my full attention for that one hour. at LEAST!

just some food for thought. i'm not saying get rid of your phones or TV, (those things come in HANDY when you're a parent.) I'm just saying to take an hour out of your day and leave your phone in another room and keep the TV off and just play with them. (or talk, if your kids are older)

Much Love
xoxo,