Your Kids Are Jealous of Your iPhone—But Not For The Reason You Think

Whether you’re on an iPhone or an Android, there’s no question that your phone probably helps you tackle some of the most how-on-earth-can-I-handle-this moments of parenting. That homemade baseball-themed cake for your son’s birthday party turned out to be a major Pinterest fail? Press a few buttons and get a more simple, but edible one delivered to your home in hours. Can’t remember if your little girl is bringing snack for soccer practice this week or next? Siri’s all too happy to remind you. Need to handle work email late into the evening, but don’t want to miss yet another family dinner? Well, I hate to say it, but that’s actually where things might be going wrong.

In a recent study conducted by Highlights magazine polled more than 1,500 children ages 6-12, asking them about their parents’ relationships with cell phones—and what they found doesn’t make us look too great at all. A whopping 62 percent of children said their parents were distracted or focused on other things when they were trying to talk to them, and the number one distraction that they cited was their parents’ cell phones. One boy, aged 10, said that he knew his parents were listening when they “stop other things and look at me.” And when one girl, aged nine, was asked what would happen if her parents lost their cell phones, she replied, “They would pay more attention to me.” Holy moly, this is sad stuff.

I love my phone, and I love keeping up with all of my social networks (easiest way for me to keep up with the world between playdates and bedtime stories!) but I love my children so much more. That’s why I’ve been working on not letting my bright little screen distract me during family time. Yes, there will always be texts, emails, and voicemails waiting—and it’s not always easy to resist checking them right away—but knowing my priorities (my family!) and having the confidence to know that the rest of the world can wait to hear back from me for a few hours has made everything so much easier.