If there was one piece of advice to give to a parent..

First off, I'm not a parent. The older I get, the more respect I gain for parents. For all that they sacrifice, for endless hours, of physical & emotional output. For the time they invest in cultivating character & for my Christian friends who are parents, making the pursuit of Christ a priority even in developing minds of children.

Because I am no parent, I really don't see a point in telling a parent how to raise a child, what is beneficial for them etc. However, I have seen the same example of a behavior, repeatedly that has left me completely heart broken. It has made me want to grab the parental by the face and go...
wake. up. please.

So I figured that I would blog about it, since that's where I tend to unleash most of my unspoken cognitions anyway.

Multiple times now, I have first hand witnessed parents out with their younger aged children... texting the entire time that their kids are begging for their attention.

It makes me sick.

2 scenarios to date within the same week:

1. Little boy walking out of a gaming store. Dad puts him in the car. Little boy is gabbing away about how excited he is to play with his dad. Says things like, "Come on daddy, are you ready to go? I am so excited to play with you etc." Dad, on the outside of the vehicle, cigarette in one hand, phone in the other.. " (Name-) Just be quiet a minute! I need to send this message. It is incredibly important." 5 mins later. Still on the phone. Doesn't lift his face out from his phone, except to take another inhalation of his cigarette.

2. Dad takes little girls out to dinner. Girls are coloring and asking him questions. Dad doesn't lift up his head from the phone even once during the entire meal with his two small, sweet daughters.

Part of me literally wanted to rip the phone out of their hands and say "PAY ATTENTION TO THEM- THEY NEED YOU. YOU ARE THEIR WORLD! One day because you don't give them the attention they need now, the declaration of their worth NOW, they will go looking for it elsewhere. Your stupid phone can wait!"

I know we are now living in a culture flooded by cell phones, texting, emails, & social media. But I can't help but think that we are losing touch just a little when we start neglecting those who are sitting right before us. The one's that God is asking us to be pouring into, presently.

I am not a parent. But I am so tired of seeing parents blinded to this. In a few years, when your child wanders off and is searching for the attention they needed from you beforehand, maybe they will have an "app" for you to figure out how to reach them. You are missing the opportunity and the responsibility they have been given to nurture and cherish the time that their children are seeking THEM out for attention.

One day, that will end. And you won't be as important to them as you once were.

I am not a parent.
I am not a parent.