Thoughtful Thursday: Are we present with our kids?

This is a continuation from the last post I made in regards to primary school...   

So as I mentioned before I was able to finally set foot in a school and actually get a feel of the atmosphere etc..

As the headteacher was showing me around, he was going into how kids learn through play; and he made a comment along the lines of "You notice the parents that stick an Ipad or a phone on their lap by their speech"

And it made me check myself, because between my two boys, Jeremiah delayed with speech, and Matthew didn't. But with Jeremiah, I did everything.. I would sing, read (I'm quite an animated parent.. I do voices and expressions lol), and have little conversations with him-- and I did the exact same thing with Matthew but yet he is more up to par with his speech than Jeremiah.  

So what was he insinuating? That parents that give their kids Ipads and phones are less intelligent? Because honestly there are some times I do stick my kids on a tablet, but when I do it's something educational. There are so many educational apps out there that help with speech and however much else.

Then there are times I just let them watch what they like--- but the time is limited to an hour (but let me be real.. because of all this lockdown hoo haa… screen time has increased..). and then we move on and do something else.

Being present with your kids is a very important thing to keep in mind; but you can't be present in that whole 24 hours.. there are things we need to do as parents; so I don't see the harm in them delving into a bit of screen time.

But I maybe taking what he's saying the wrong way... he may have meant that parents will give the children the tablet/phone to replace the time they are meant to be spending with them..

Which also made me evaluate myself; am I being present enough with my two boys?

But honestly... because I am a stay at home mum.. I am in the house with them but there are days that I do other things so they play with toys or they have their tablets.

But in accordance to my son's speech journey and how quick his brother is also catching on, I believe I am strongly present.

Don't get it twisted... all this speech and language therapy Jeremiah has been going through has been all me! I speak to a therapist and they just ask me what has changed and what do I think he can work on... and they leave it at that-- I need to do all of the work!

Which is what I've been doing.. there are times I involve myself while they are playing and do small phonics exercises... or flashcards or we just play but I make sure I name everything he's playing with and make sure he repeats.

It's not hard to be present with kids-- just pay attention and get yourself involved; they really do appreciate it and sometimes the little twinkle in their eye is so heartwarming,,,

..then there's other days where I'll get the shove and a 'No mummy!" lol..

But all in all.. it's all about BALANCE. I don't see anything wrong with letting your child have a tablet for an hour while you do things around the house or get work done.

But it is vital that you spend time with your kids, whether it's through play, or reading, or whatever else it maybe because as parents we should be the first to catch to what our kids strengths and weaknesses are, and start working on it before any specialist or teacher-- obviously they can give good counsel and advice-- but they are our kids at the end of the day!

The comment was said in passing.. but it really made my mind go into a completely different place!