[bigums]

As a parent of a soon-to-be three year old, I can relate. I’ve been thinking a lot about this exact issue. I’ve become aware of how horrible I am at staying “present” with him when we’re playing. I’m seriously struggling with the guilt that when I’m playing with him, I’m always thinking about other things (work, personal interests, chores, etc.)

Just a few days ago, I had a bit of a break through though. We went outside and played in the mud, found bugs, climbed a tree, and made a tire swing. If I wasn’t inside, I had a much easier time blocking out all the distractions. It might not be STEM by today’s standards, but I feel like he learned a whole more than a screen could teach him at this age. Honestly, I learned a lot about myself in the 3 hours we spent hanging out and being a kid again.

I don’t want it to seem like this is the first time that I’ve gone out and played with my kids outside or anything. It’s just the first time I’ve gone about it and become aware of all of these feelings.

It’s tough to write or even talk about this because the stigma of today’s society on raising kids in the era of iPads and YouTube. I feel that there’s an expectation that our generation is going to raise our kids with screens glued to their faces. Every piece of me wants to make sure that doesn’t happen to my kids. But I feel awful that I lack the interest when it comes to playing with kids toys.

TLDR: I took him outside and played. Lol.