For most of my life, I’ve been somewhat contemplative and reflective about my journey through the hourglass. The older I get, the more I appreciate the moments that matter. You know, the times where life takes your breath away for a second.
These days, I experience these moments a lot when I spend time with Atlas. My experience parenting him has changed considerably ever since my TV kicked the dust; he’s more present, focused and kind. I love parenting so much that I sincerely regret all of the seconds I wasted when he was in front of a screen.
I think that a lot of parents say they put their kids first, but their actions don’t reflect it. I look around these days and see ‘iPad zombies’ where little children hold a rubber-encased iPad only inches away from their screen for hours on end.
We used to cite the dangers of television screens on our eyes – now, we’ve made them a lot smaller, packed them full of cancer-causing, EMF-emitting electronics and hold them inches away from our brains – and reproductive organs.
I’m really thankful that I had protective parents. The older I get, the more I realize that a lot of minors in the world are really just younger versions of their parents – if not, a more poorly-behaved version of them. When mommy and daddy have bad behavior, it just gets passed along to their kids.
This weekend, I watched as a mother struggled to parent her child, before yelling out:
“I’m miserable!”
I was shocked to see a mom yelling this in public, but more so alarmed at the impact this sort of behavior had on her child. A child simply wants to a child, and they don’t necessarily care or give much regard to the needs of their parent.
When a parent can’t keep it together and properly parent their child, they cause damage in the child, because the child somehow hears “I’m miserable” and feels like they are somehow the cause of this.
How many kids grow up feeling guilty because they overhear their parent complain about not having enough ‘me time’ when they’re at the park, or because their nails haven’t been done in months?
I spent $50 on a saxophone this week, and it was better money spent than any manicure I’ve ever had. Those are the kinds of investments that matter in the development of a child, and the ones you need to start making when you become a parent if you want your child to thrive.
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