I love when I can spend a whole day with my family. I also love that special one on one time with my kids. Today was that day. Me and Josiah (my 2 yr old son) we shopping all day for mommy. I mean ALL DAY. One thing that never get's in the way of a "all day-er" with a child o' mine is, well anything. I have to remind myself constantly to put away the phone, it's Daddy time. So we stopped at a very "manly" restaurant (o.k. B.K. is tough guy food). I saw something really disturbing. First, my son already flirts. He got the eye of this cute little 2 year old who couldn't keep her eyes of my boy (already like his daddy). Problem was, her daddy was eyeing his phone too long to notice. Here's what I mean. (cropped out faces as best as possible. This wasn't about THIS dad, This is about US dads.).
(dad on phone)
(dad on phone)
I get it. Sometimes things pop up. Sometimes they are even urgent. Here's my issue. 45 minutes later...check this out.
(dad still on the phone, hasn't barely looked up)
(dad still on the phone, hasn't barely looked up)
I'm sure this guy's a fine enough daddy. He seemed very caring as they were leaving. He was very caring, and I'd bet the bank this isn't a "norm" for him. Personally I'm thankful to him, seeing this opened my eyes. Josiah and his little girl were chatting to each other as they were leaving, we were able to share a smile and I simply said "Goes fast. Gotta enjoy every minute while we can". He nodded, smiled, scoped up his beautiful little bundle and was gone. I had to see this, cause I hated to see this. I had to capture this, because I hated to see this. Dad's, make every moment a priority. The work will be there when your done, but the moment(s) will have passed. Here's some helpful tips to make sure you "capture" every moment.
* Discipline yourself with social media. (when it's daddy time, don't let anything get in the way).
* Always keep in mind, you only get these moments once.
* Give your kid permission to call you out
(the other day Bella was asking me to watch Karate Kid. I was in the middle of texting someone. As I tried to "multi-task" my Bella came over, gently took the phone out of my hand, and gently said "Enough with the phone Daddy". All I said was "Thank you". Let your kids have the freedom to tell you when they want your attention.
* Remember. Nothing is more important to you then THAT moment right there. Audibly say that to your child. Even when they are young. Start it early so they know how much that time means to YOU.
Dad's. We only get one shot. Let's do better then "the best we can".
Jimmy
* Discipline yourself with social media. (when it's daddy time, don't let anything get in the way).
* Always keep in mind, you only get these moments once.
* Give your kid permission to call you out
(the other day Bella was asking me to watch Karate Kid. I was in the middle of texting someone. As I tried to "multi-task" my Bella came over, gently took the phone out of my hand, and gently said "Enough with the phone Daddy". All I said was "Thank you". Let your kids have the freedom to tell you when they want your attention.
* Remember. Nothing is more important to you then THAT moment right there. Audibly say that to your child. Even when they are young. Start it early so they know how much that time means to YOU.
Dad's. We only get one shot. Let's do better then "the best we can".
Jimmy
RSS Feed