Hands Free Mama Pledge!

A couple of days ago I read this wonderful blog post by handsfreemama.com: How to Miss a Childhood. I would post the entire post that she wrote, but it is kind of long. I loved some of the things that she brought to light though. She talks about how many parents are too involved with their phones, computers, jobs, favorite TV shows, etc. that they miss their children's childhood. Even though the parents are "there" for special events and for their children, they aren't actually "involved" in the moments. They're too busy answering text messages, emails, and phone calls to really be involved with their children.

Going out together!

A few things she says:

*Check your phone first thing in the morning … even before you kiss, hug, or greet the people in your family.

*Neglect daily rituals like tucking your child into bed or nightly dinner conversation because you are too busy with your online activity.

*Don’t look up from your phone when your child speaks to you or just reply with an “uh huh” so she thinks you were listening.

*Lose your temper with your child when he “bothers” you while you are interacting with your hand-held electronic device.

*Give an exasperated sigh when your child asks you to push her on the swing. Can’t she see you’re busy?

*Use drive time to call other people regardless of the fact you could be talking to your kids about their day—or about their worries, their fears, or their dreams.

*Read email and text messages at stoplights. Then tell yourself that when your kids are old enough to drive they won’t remember you did this all the time.

Here's to capturing more of these photos!

When I stop and look at my own life, I find myself guilty of some of the things she posts. Thankfully, I'm not guilty of all of them...then I'd feel really HORRIBLE! At times, I find myself on the internet or on my phone because my son can't talk, walk, or run around yet, but the main kicker for me is being so anal about everything. I like to have everything in my house and life neat, clean, and in order. Sometimes I find myself cleaning too much or worrying about all the things I need to do during the day instead of just enjoying my time with my son.

No More! I have decided to keep the computer and phone to a minimum while he's awake unless it's absolutely necessary to use.
I will also curb the cleaning and other "chores" I feel are necessary and make extra time to read to him, play with him, or snuggle.
I won't talk on the phone while driving and instead sing kiddie songs with him until he can talk.
When he remembers his childhood, I want him to remember a mom that dropped everything to be involved in his day and put her family first.
I want him to have the same great childhood I had. My parents were never too busy or too involved in their extracurriculars to make us feel like we were the most important parts of their lives!

Here's to more fishing days when he can hold his own pole!

Hopefully, more mom's will take a similar hands-free challenge.