The Heartbreak of Digitally-Preoccupied Parenting
As a child psychologist, I often meet with children who confess that they feel empty inside because their parents ignore them in favor of their smartphones. Thankfully, these kids typically give me permission to speak with their parents about their feelings. When I do talk with these parents, most will make amends.
Yet for every child I work with, I observe many more in my personal life who are snubbed by digitally-preoccupied parents: a girl of about seven who can’t get her dad’s attention because he’s watching a game on his phone, a solemn young boy whose mom is so taken with posts and pictures on her phone that she doesn’t say a word to him for the entire meal.
But I’m not these children’s doctor. As much as I wish to speak up on their behalf, I can’t. So I bite my lip and turn away.
These heartbreaking moments haunt me…
Read the rest of this article in the Huffington Post
Photo credit: Denys Kurbatov/Shutterstock
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