{photo by William Iven}
It is not enough to ask your children to put away their phones. You have to model this behavior and put way your phone.
~Sherry Turkle, in Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age
Today we have another relationship-building mini-challenge to try… with your kids:
This one seems so obvious, but let’s pay attention to our habits when our kids are trying to talk to us and we’re on our phones, computers, or other devices. We want to give them our full attention, but how often do we keep typing or texting while half-listening and trying to respond? (Guilty!)
Although it can seem like an inconvenience, let’s make ourselves set the phone down, close the laptop, and look into our child’s eyes when they talk to us. Let’s tangibly show them that they more valuable than the screen. We can also teach them how to politely interrupt if we are working or in the middle of something, of course. But regularly choosing to look at our kids when they need to talk to us will teach them the value of paying attention to another person, help them develop the skills of speaking and listening (while reading facial expressions and body language), and will allow us to really hear them (and vice versa). Better communication for all!
Do you have a story or tip that relates to this? Share your thoughts in the comments!
