I’ve talked about this before, and I recently realized something. I am guilty of not putting my phone down enough. On a couple of days off last week, I spent quality time with my son: hiking, taking him to the park, eating at restaurants, playing with his toys, and just chilling on the couch. Yes, we did plenty of activities that were quite productive. However, I noticed that I was looking at my phone often, especially while at home, when I didn’t need to. It wasn’t just quick glances to reply to a message or anything. These were long periods of time staring at my phone. My son didn’t get the attention he deserved from me during these moments.

Life does get busy, and it feels like we have to be plugged in 24/7; otherwise, the world will pass us by. This is simply not true. Yes, much of our required work is done over the smartphone nowadays, but this does not mean it has to take over our lives completely. How often do we pick up our phone expecting to look at something for a minute, only to end up spending 20 minutes or more? I reckon this happens regularly to many of you. I’m certainly not telling you to ignore your important work. However, don’t let it overtake your personal life and the quality moments you share with your children.

Our children want the simplest thing from us: our attention. They want our attention when we are in their presence, and we certainly owe them that, whether they are playing, eating, or sitting next to us. They don’t need anything extravagant. They simply need us, their present fathers. We certainly deserve time to relax and seclude ourselves; however, we can do this while also creating small pockets of phone-free time, such as dinner, bedtime stories, or playtime. These phone-free moments can just be 15-20 minute sessions free from interruptions. Emails, phone calls, social media, bills, and other things can wait a few minutes. Our children stay small for only a short time, so it’s important to make as many memories as we can.

Once again, I am guilty of looking at my phone more often than I need to, and even during moments when I should be giving my son my full attention. I will keep working on this, and I hope to help all of you do the same.