{"id":235,"date":"2026-05-08T06:07:56","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T06:07:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/08\/sometimes-as-a-parent-you-just-have-to-be-tough-and-put-your-phone-down\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T06:07:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T06:07:56","slug":"sometimes-as-a-parent-you-just-have-to-be-tough-and-put-your-phone-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/08\/sometimes-as-a-parent-you-just-have-to-be-tough-and-put-your-phone-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Sometimes as a parent, you just have to be tough and put your phone down"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: One Small Thing is a new series to help you take a simple step toward a healthy, impactful goal. Try this one thing, and you\u2019ll be heading in the right direction.<\/em><\/p>\n

When my daughters were 6 and 10, I tried to abstain from using my personal electronic devices (laptop, smartphone) while in their presence. <\/p>\n

I challenged myself to do it for just a month \u2014 back when I\u2019d successfully experimented with swapping monthly resolutions for the more traditional (and often less effective) annual New Year\u2019s resolutions. <\/p>\n

It was inconvenient on occasion, for sure. Other times, it was even comical \u2014 shutting a computer each time my kids entered the room, reopen it when they left and then close it again when they returned to tell me something else. <\/p>\n

When I absolutely had to be looking at a screen (mainly for work, really), I told them what I was doing so at least they didn\u2019t feel they were competing with social media for my attention. <\/p>\n

Of the 12 micro-resolutions I did that year, screen-curbing one was the most impactful. It increased my awareness of how much I was ignoring, or half-ignoring, my kids for the phone or laptop, and I felt we connected more. <\/p>\n

They noticed too, which only reinforced my effort. \u201cI do like it,\u201d my younger daughter said recently. \u201cI feel more connected. I can\u2019t tell your emotions when you\u2019re talking to me while on your computer.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it makes more of a difference is when I ask you a question,\u201d my older daughter said, \u201cbecause it feels like you\u2019re paying more attention, even if you were listening the same amount while looking at your phone.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cAttention is the rarest and purest form of generosity,\u201d the modern French philosopher Simone Weil said, summing up the opportunity. <\/p>\n

My small self-challenge had a direct and outsized halo effect on my relationships with my daughters. The conversations were more interactive, longer. It became the only month-long resolution I kept going after the month was over, but I gradually became less strict about it, as go many resolutions that don\u2019t make the leap to ingrained habit. <\/p>\n

My kids are 12 and 17 now. They have their own personal screens today, unlike when I did the first experiment. Modeling good technology habits, so that they don\u2019t become clock-gobbling distractions or speed bumps to direct and meaningful communication, seems even more vital. <\/p>\n

Recent research backs up this notion. In a study released this past summer, authors found that parental screen use in front of their child \u201cwas associated with higher total screen time and problematic social media, video games, and mobile phone use in early adolescents.\u201d <\/p>\n

If you want to keep your kids\u2019 use of devices in check beyond any rules and\/or screentime limits you\u2019re trying to enforce, one way to influence them positively is simply modeling the behavior when you\u2019re with them, researchers found. <\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I have a bad habit (of being on my phone in front of others), even when I\u2019m not doing anything on my phone,\u201d my older daughter confessed when I asked if my experiment was setting a good example, agreeing she needs to be better about it herself. <\/p>\n

Connecting more with my family, being a good role model, becoming more mindful about whether I really need to be on a screen \u2014 those are the reasons I\u2019ve recommitted to this effort to put down the phone and close the laptop when my kids enter the room, and keep it closed unless they know it\u2019s for work or something else that can\u2019t wait. I\u2019m adding my wife, too, because that\u2019s another relationship that is more important than anything I\u2019m looking at on a screen. <\/p>\n

I even announce it sometimes, so they know. While I was writing this column, my older daughter came downstairs and said, \u201cI have a question for you.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m closing my laptop so I can fully hear it!\u201d I happily replied, which made her laugh, and I assume appreciate the gesture. <\/p>\n

The first month isn\u2019t even over, and we\u2019re already enjoying the benefits of this one small thing I\u2019m committing to all year. <\/p>\n

Ready to do more? Sign up for our Stress, But Less newsletter to help reduce your stress and improve your mood in 2025. If you need help sustaining your new resolutions, try these tips for building habits.<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n

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Editor\u2019s Note: One Small Thing is a new series to help you take a simple step toward a healthy, impactful goal. Try this one thing, and you\u2019ll be heading in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":236,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}