Following up on yesterday’s post, something I’ve been very conscious of, and Jaclyn and I have had conversations about, is limiting the amount of time we spend on our phones in front of Miles. While this wasn’t something I was thinking about in February or March, this changed as Miles demonstrated increased awareness of his surroundings.
Our cell phones were two of the earliest objects to draw Miles’s attention, and likely with good reason — we had one hovering over him nearly constantly in the early days of his life, trying to capture as much of his early development as possible. (And who am I kiddin’? We’re STILL doing this.)
Keeping Miles away from cell phones is no easy feat, especially considering that they’ve become the primary device for taking photos and videos. So to completely remove the phones from the environment means possibly sacrificing a captured moment. It’s a real catch-22 situation!
But then, the real problem isn’t the technology itself so much as our conduct with it. taking pictures is one thing — often, I’ll show the picture to Miles on the phone’s screen once I’ve taken it, letting him see himself in a way similar to letting him look into a mirror. What I try my damnedest not to do? Sit next to him mindlessly scrolling through my phone, vacillating between rage and complacency as I look at Facebook, Twitter, the news, etc. I’m trying to set an example as much as I am an expectation in preparation for that day, which will come all too soon, when Miles’s first words are, “Can I have cell phone?”
It isn’t as hard as it sounds; when Miles is around, there’s something better to focus on anyway.
Now if only we could continue that trend once Miles is in bed, maybe Jaclyn and I might see more of each other!
The Perils (& Pride) of Paternity 