Smartphones and technology can go a LONG way to help with parenting (I mean, how did non-math genius parents help their kids with math homework before YouTube?), but they can also provide a distraction that’s just too easy to escape into. I for one, have been guilty of paying too much attention to my phone many times, or having to say “wait a second” to my child while I was finishing a text. Like most things in life, with smartphones, moderation is key.
The staff at one Texas daycare center wasn’t seeing nearly ENOUGH moderation when it came to smartphone use and the parents of the kids they care for. Their frustration with parents using phones at pickup boiled over until they eventually posted this no-holds-barred sign on their door last week. A daycare parent who agrees with the sign, Juliana Mazurkewicz, posted the photo to her Facebook page.
Posted at the daycare today!
Posted by Juliana Farris Mazurkewicz on Friday, January 27, 2017
Her post quickly went viral with over a MILLION shares. The sign really hit a nerve! It pulls no punches, using all caps to drive the message home. “You are picking up your child! GET OFF YOUR PHONE!!!! Your child is happy to see you! Are you happy to see your child?”
It goes on with another verbal gut-punch: “We have heard a child say ‘Mommy, mommy, mommy…’ and the parent is paying more attention to their phone than their own child. It is appalling.”
While most parents who commented seem to agree with the message, saying things like “Amen” and “Hang up and raise your child,” a few Facebook commenters were offended and had responses such as, “A lot of working parents have hectic schedules if they have other kids. So while I see the point, I also don’t think it’s fair to judge a parent on a brief encounter.”
While I generally agree that you should put the phone away when you are picking up your child after a long day away from each other, I do also understand that circumstances arise that need to be taken care of, whether personal or professional. But, I have to believe that for the daycare to post such a confrontational sign, it must really be a problem there.
What would you do if this sign was posted at your child’s daycare?
