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Pay Attention
Monday, May 09, 2011 by Jeannie Fleming-Gifford
How much time do you really spend with your little one?
Today, I am with Stef.
I waited, I begged, and I wished for the day when I would hear the word "Mama."
Today, it seems that I have heard it no less than a hundred times: "Mama...mama...mama...mama...mama..."
Oh, I do love that word. I know in my heart that someday I will yearn to hear it.
In addition to "Mama," there were other commands: "Play."
"Color."
"Read."
"Watch."
"Come."
And so on and so on and so on...
For a moment today - just for a moment - I wanted to finish something else. Oh no, it wasn’t anything glamorous. I wanted to fold a piece of laundry, put away a dish, and clean up after breakfast. I wanted to dust. It was just a few little things I wanted to get done.
Oh, yes. Okay. I admit it; I also wanted a few quiet moments with my iphone. I wanted to see what all my "friends" on Facebook were up to.
Usually, I can multi-task with the best of them. I can color with one hand and put a dish away with another. I can watch for a moment while dusting. I can run into the other room and put away something and be back in a flash. I really do try.
Today, this wasn’t working so well. It wasn’t enough for my child. Then, it finally hit me.
I needed to PAY. ATTENTION.
As a working-outside-the-house-mama, I try to put things aside and have as much quality time as I can with the kiddo. I am extremely sensitive to the time I am away from her. Sometimes I am guilty though of trying to mix this quality time with the quantity of things I can get done.
"Mama...mama...mama...mama..." It was a simple reminder that I needed to stop trying to multi-task for a moment and just pay attention to my munchkin. That’s all she wanted. So simple. So easy and yet sometimes I forget how important this one-on-one FOCUSED time is.
When it comes to our developing kiddos, there always seems to be a lot going on. Some times, it is hard to stop everything else and just cue in on our little one’s needs. Not just their physical needs, but - often- more importantly, their emotional needs.
How much time do we really spend with our children?
Outside of their physical care, what are your interactions with your little one?
For me, it took a lot of effort from my little one to finally wake me up and realize I needed to put down the dust rag, put down the phone, forget about the dishes in the sink, and just go with my child where they would lead me.
When it comes to your developing kiddo, where does your child want to take you these days?
Are you listening?
