It’s Wednesday afternoon, I’ve just made it home from a long meeting at work and my mind is racing with a million different thoughts, all of them task-based. My eldest daughter has been practising her handstands during the day and is very keen to show me her new and improved technique. “Watch me, Daddy! Daddy, are you watching?” “Did you watch me the whole time?”
As a working parent (and that includes stay-at-home parents!), you would have been in a similar place to this one, I’m sure. The transition from work to home life has always existed. However, due to changes in our society over the last decade or so (namely smart phones, the ability to work from home and social media), making this transition is becoming more and more difficult.
The world seems to be operating at breakneck speed now and the pace of life has increased alongside it. We can do SO MUCH with our time now; the options are limitless! Multi-tasking is the new norm – texting a friend while making dinner while listening to a podcast about a new social trend, while paying a bill online… All the while, potentially missing the moments that really matter, like watching our kids achieve new personal bests, taking time to sit with them and play or just talk (without an agenda). See the beauty of life from their eyes. This kind of perspective can’t be seen when we’re scrolling through our phones at the same time.
If we, as adults, can sense the impact this frenetic lifestyle is having on our own lives, imagine how much greater this impact is on our children! They are the greatest observers and they copy what we model. We cannot ignore the significance of spending quality time with our kids. It speaks volumes to them, on every level. It also makes a notable difference to their behaviour at school as they are not craving attention as desperately or in the wrong ways.
When it comes to showing love to them, the saying stands true ‘actions speak louder than words’. Saying ‘I love you’ carries much less value to a primary-aged student compared to getting outside, kicking a ball or going for a walk together for thirty minutes. The art of abiding with our families is quickly being lost to the ever-increasing pace of life. Let’s be mindful not to overlook our children amongst all of our business.
To find out more about hurry sickness and its impacts on society, see the links below:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-time-cure/201302/hurry-sickness
https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/9/16627724/sean-parker-facebook-childrens-brains-feedback-loop
https://blog.dscout.com/mobile-touches
Mr John Lucas / Junior School Discipline and Welfare
