(ThyBlackMan.com) For many of us life moves at 100mph, with our cellphone being the leading distraction since it is home to social media for most. Though many have demanding jobs that require a lot of tie as we try to make ends meet our distractions also account for more time than we realize. The phone has become an extension of the hand, and people are caught up in timelines and trending topics. During this time, it is very difficult to pay attention to the things that are important. Let’s be honest…there are people out there that risk their job, and have lost their job, behind their inability to simply put the phone down.
It is unfortunate that we have become some addicted to this little device that too many go for broke to have the latest model of their choice of poison be it Android or Apple. This degree of distraction is known to have terrible consequences when in a relationship. We’ve all seen the fights Facebook and Instagram cause, and we’ve seen the breakups happen in public on the very same site. I was recently told that humans do not multitask well…they simply divide their attention.
Risking ones means to provide a roof and food, and destroying relationships is indeed terrible…but one can argue we have truly lost our minds when we are so distracted we can’t see our children. Parenting is both a challenge, and rewarding. It is one of the greatest tasks we can partake of, as our children depend on us in every aspect of their life. They need more than merely shelter, food, and clothing. They will require help in education, emotional stability, discipline, consistency, and your undivided attention. To love them is to make them a priority.
Life must slow down when it comes to raising children. When you are so engulfed in that conversation, or getting your point across on a thread you may very well leave your sleeping baby in a hot car. When attention is divided to bits you may neglect to keep your toddler out of the kitchen, because you were in your room on the phone, so they burned themselves on the stove. When addiction to distraction is priority you will miss the fact that your child came home with bruises from a fight…or the signs that your child is being abused. It’s fair to say distraction can kill your children literally, and emotionally.
Parenting requires awareness. No child deserves to die as a result of being left in a hot car. That is cruel and the parent must take responsibility without excuse. Many should slow life down for their own wellness; you must learn how to unplug to administer life giving self-care. If you won’t do what’s needed for you at least do so for your children. In giving them the time and attention they need, and deserve, you may find it possible to do the same for self. Children don’t ask to come here, and they ought not be placed second to social media or any other distractive vice. Remember they are watching us, and learning from us. When you give them the very same device to occupy them, since you don’t have time, they will grow up addicted to the very same distraction as you. That makes for a very dark future for our generations to come, yet it is avoidable.
Staff Writer; Christian Starr
May connect with this sister over at Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/christian.pierre.9809 and also Twitter; http://twitter.com/MrzZeta.
