Are you on the job?

The other day someone asked me if I can’t simply do something in particular while I am with my children. My answer was no. No, I simply can’t squeeze that in there while I’m on the floor playing with legos or helping with homework or monitoring their safety on the playground. And at some point some sort of nutrition has to be provided.

And I got that look. Now if you have never cared for another person, you don’t comprehend how involved the task is. But let’s just keep this focused on children and child-rearing. It blows my mind that society as a whole here looks at children as a side dish. Something to tag along while keeping up with all the other activities we cram into our day.

There are those people with that “there is no excuse not to do” attitude only because you have children. There is no excuse for you not to work out and be in perfect shape. There is no excuse for you to not be in school and get a degree. There is no excuse…

Yes, there is no excuse, but the people in your face about it either do not have children or have someone (help) take care of their children. And here’s the kicker. So when you send your kid off to school, do you want your kid’s teacher multitasking while under his care? Do you want that teacher to run a business on the side while in the classroom, manage his personal affairs or just do a leisure activity while YOUR child is in his classroom? The same goes for any other activity or environment that you send your child to such as daycare, after school activities, sports etc.

If you want the person taking care of your child to pay 100% attention to your child and the activities she is supposed to do, then how are you excusing cramming all these other activities into the time that you are spending with your children. Taking the focus off of them. Would you be willing to pay yourself, knowing what you do while you are with your children, the way all these other people are getting paid when your children are under their care. In other words, are you doing the job?

When I’m at work, my focus is on my clients and the other duties assigned to me. When I’m in school, my focus is on the teacher and our assigned activities. When I’m with my children my focus should be on them. There are already enough distractions flowing in and out without me trying to cram in one more activity. So again, the answer is No for me. I can’t simply do something while I’m with my children. I want to be present while I have the time. Instead of doing things that take me out of that moment.