Daddy, Watch Me

“Children are a blessing; God’s greatest gift." ~ Psalm 127:3

I’m Benjamin and I’m four.  Sophie is my bratty little sister; she’s almost two.  Dad stayed home from work today and took us to the playground. 

Everybody loves the park – kids swing and slide; dogs chase tennis balls; even the birds sing happy songs.  Mom takes me and Sophie as often as she can, but today we’re super excited ‘cause it’s Daddy’s turn.  We can’t wait to show him all we learned since last time.

The air’s warm, sunlight makes my skin hot.  Flowers look really pretty and freshly cut green grass smells good.  It’s a neat day to be outside.

“Daddy, watch me!” as I fly down the slide yelling “Daddy, watch this!”  I climb the ladder to go again and shout again “Daddy, I need you to watch me.  DADDY!!!”

I see him over there on the bench, messing with his iPhone and my shoulders slump.  When he barely glances my way, Sophie notices and frantically tries to get his attention too.

She spins round and around, making her dress twirl.   She’s such a little beauty queen, the sun glowing behind her golden hair.  She keeps glancing to see if Daddy’s watching.  He isn’t.

My head sags to my chest, but only for a second as I look for another cool thing to do.

So I push Sophie in the swing.   She loves it!  Cooing and smiling with every push.   But Daddy doesn’t see us though.  His eyes are fixed on his phone.  We’re kinda used to it, but that doesn’t make it OK.

If Daddy would put that stupid thing down for a minute, I’d tell him that “Playtime at the park will be over before you know it, as will our childhood.”

“We won’t always want to come to the park with you, Daddy.  There’ll come a point when we stop trying, stop calling your name, stop bothering to interrupt your phone time.”

“Because you’ve shown us that your phone is more important than me and Sophie.  I know your heart says differently, but your actions are screaming way too loudly.”

“Talk to us Daddy.  Tell us about the clouds and the God who made them.  Teach me how to catch a fly ball.  Tickle Sophie’s tummy and enjoy the baby belly laugh that disappears too quickly.”

“Put your eyes back on the real prize . . . us kids.”

Almost 75% of parents use a mobile device at least once during mealtime and many are more absorbed in the device than in their kids.  Fortunately it’s pretty easy to break the habit.

Guess what happens when you put down the iPhone, get on the floor and simply mutter, “Hey, you wanna play?”  Unicorns, rainbows, puppies and butterflies.

“So look up from your phones, shut down those displays, we have a finite existence, a set number of days.   Don’t waste your life getting caught in the Net, because when the end comes, nothing’s worse than regret!” (“Look Up” a poem by Gary Turk)