Do you leave your smartphone behind at the park?

[summerreading]

I started leaving my phone in the car when I go out with the kids. I just deleted facebook and I'm trying to using internet time better. I'm sure not everyone is like this, but I just check the phone too often if I have it with me. It's been very nice to break that habit.

 

I saw parents pushing their kid on the swing absentmindedly with one hand and engrossed in reading something on their phone with the other. I noticed moms trying to toggle between looking interested and getting one last facebook comment in, pulling out the phone whenever the child wasn't looking for second while the child was still trying to talk to the mom.

 

I feel like I regained some mental space since starting this, if that makes sense.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

If both kids are with me, the phone stays in the truck. If both kids are not with me, the phone stays on me, but I don't have anything on it anyway.

[Mommyof4ks]

Good for you! I just stick mine in my pocket, but I have 4 kids, so someone is always talking to me, so I have no time to check my phone lol.

[brehon]

Well, if it works for you, then great! I don't leave my phone in the car for several reasons, safety & heat being the two main ones. An iPhone and 100+ degree heat don't mix. :-)

[bettyandbob]

My phone is not a smartphone, so, no fb, no email. If it rings I answer or check the incoming text. This is rare and usually the one calling/texting is dh or one of my older teens. I don't call friends while I'm playing in the park.

[Ellie]

No. But then I don't like doing FB on my smart phone. I prefer sitting here at my computer to do FB. :-)

 

I want to have my phone with me in case of emergencies.

[MrsMommy]

My phone is usually with me at the park, because I'm usually taking pictures with it. It's much less bulky than the "real" camera, and works fine for casual picture-taking.

[Dmmetler]

I have mine turned off when I'm not actively making or expecting to receive a call. It's an older phone and it's battery life isn't great, so I started doing that to make sure I could make a call when I needed to-and have found I like it that way. The only problem so far is one mom in my HS group who doesn't seem to understand that my not answering my cell isn't a personal affront-it's that it probably isn't on (and she never calls on the landline or sends e-mail, both of which I'm likely to see sooner than a call or text on my cell.)

[Night Elf]

I have teens. They are way more attached to their phones than I am. I got them to put the phones aside during family time like dinner or playing a game. Nothing in their phones is more important than spending quality time with their family. I'm always surprised to see so many people, especially adults, seemingly unaware of their environment. They might be missing out on some beautiful moments.

[TammyinTN]

My ds is 16, but I rarely use my phone for anything.  I think last month I used 6 minutes of phone time and 2 text.    I always have it with me and charged so if I have an emergency I can be reached or reach someone.  

 

I talk on FB with my dd and a few friends daily, but I think thats about 30 minutes total a day.     I like face to face contact and it's usually what I seek out.  

 

 

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

The park is one of the places I can sit and be on my phone. My boys are older though. The rest of the day I'm busy with them. Th park time gives me some breathing room.

 

Plus my phone is my camera.

[Pawz4me]

If my kids were still young enough to enjoy park visits -- no, I wouldn't leave my phone in the car.  It would probably be either hot enough or cold enough to be detrimental to the battery.  Plus, what if an emergency occurred and I needed to call 911?

 

But I'm not a slave to my phone.  It's a useful and often fun device, but one that I can easily ignore when real life is happening.  (Please note I don't mean that to sound arrogant or holier-than-anyone-else, I just don't know how else to phrase it.  Probably need more caffeine. ;))

[Word Nerd]

I only recently got a smartphone, so it was never an issue when the kids were younger and needed my full attention at the park.

[HollyDay]

I keep my phone with me but I only use it if it is a necessity.  I answer calls, but my cell phone list is limited.  If someone is calling my cell, it is for a good reason.  I take pictures.  I'll check weather if I need to (storms rolling into area).

 

I do not surf the net, check fb, text people just for fun when I'm with dh, dc, or friends.  There have been events I've attended where the majority of women keep checking their phones and interacting with it just for fun rather than interacting with each other in person.  We have been invited to dinner at friend's homes where they have their cells on the table and check it frequently.  It is not for work or family crisis (I asked), but for fun.  Wanting to see what someone posted.  Dds have had friends over for game night but they can't play the game because too many people are checking phones, posting, checker twitter, etc.  It is rude.  Common courtesy would dictate putting the phone away in these situations. 

 

I understand needing to interact with the phone if you have a baby sitter or children that need to be checked on. If you are on call for your work.  If you have a family health concern, loved one in the hospital, etc.  But, just "for fun" while you are out with people in front of you who want to spend time with you is not right. 

 

[Scrub Jay]

No, the phone stays on me.  I also use it to take pictures to send to DH at work.  But, even if I didn't, it would stay on me since it drastically loses its convenience factor being somewhere away from me.

 

Honestly, maybe that toddler in the swing is a real handful and this is the only time the mom gets to keep him/her happy and have a moment to "herself"?  I think sometimes people assume a bit too much about strangers and their phones from brief snapshots in public.  I'm sure I look like I am ignoring my toddler in Target and Trader Joe's to some because I keep checking my phone - but that's where I keep my shopping list.

[Cosmos]

I don't have a smartphone, and I certainly didn't have one when my child was of an age to need supervision at the park. But I did take a book, or knitting, or a grocery list to work on, or something else. I spent some time playing with him, but I also spent some time sitting back on a bench watching from afar. I was there to intervene in case problems arose, but I did encourage him to engage with the other children or simply explore on his own. I don't think a child needs an adult's constant attention at the park. I'm not talking about toddler age, of course. I stayed close early on, and then gradually stepped back.

[ChrissySC]

I like that idea.  Because of your observations, and my similar feelings, I have not upgraded to a smart phone.  Yes, I run networks and make sure that my company has the connections and technology, but me ... nope.  I just don't like that type of accessibility.  

 

 

 

[ocelotmom]

No. Park is the time when my kids run around like hellions and do their own things. I'm not necessarily on it constantly (or I might be, especially if I'm reading a book or something), and I'm not using it while pushing a toddler on a swing or something, but I'm not gazing raptly at every second of my kids' hellionness, either.

[Kathryn]

No. I take my children to the park so they can play, not so I can entertain them some more. I can do that at home. If I'm on my own there, I'll probably be entertaining myself with my phone. But, I'm more likely to be meeting other moms there for our kids to play, so I'm talking to the other moms.

[gardenmom5]

it's in my pocket.  I have it for a phone first.  just because my phone is with me doesn't mean I'm "on it". 

[Excelsior! Academy]

The park is one of the places I can sit and be on my phone. My boys are older though. The rest of the day I'm busy with them. Th park time gives me some breathing room.

 

Plus my phone is my camera.

 

Yes.  I absolutely take my phone with me and am *on* it.  Judge me if you want.  I rarely have my phone with me at home, that is where I interact most with my children.  My phone is a convenience for *me* not others.  I am in a house with 9dc 24/7. The park is one of the few places I can sit back and relax and check a few blogs.  If my teens want to talk or if another mom with children is at the park and wants to casually chat then I will put the phone up.  Heat and cold is a non-issue for me.  If it is too hot or cold for the phone, it is probably too hot or cold for us, so we won't likely be at the park.

[SKL]

Well, maybe that parent is a working parent or is involved in nonprofits or has a family emergency going on, and needs to monitor a time-sensitive situation.  Maybe being able to bring the smartphone is the only reason she is able to take her kids to the park in the first place.

 

I usually leave mine in the car, unless I am on a tight schedule.  Because I don't wear a watch, I use my phone for that.  I keep it in my back pocket as I take a walk around the perimeter of the park.  This is often my only chance of getting exercise on a given day.

[Elisabet1]

Yes, I leave my smart phone behind. I have been seeing the same thing.

[SKL]

I would also say that between pushing a kid on a swing and checking the smartphone, I'm not sure which one is less meaningful....

[MomtoCandJ]

I bring mine with me to take pictures, keep track of time, and my phone is the "home" phone so all important calls come to my phone.

[ocelotmom]

I really hate these posts. Taking kids to the park is generally a good thing (assuming they want to be there, dressed appropriately for the weather, adequately supervised, and so forth). Why do people care so much what the parent is doing (again, assuming adequate supervision)? Should we just stay at home to use our phones and give our kids screentime so no one can see our iPhone-shame? 

[Thia7278]

Mine comes with me and I use it. I rarely am online with it when I am away from home, but I have music and books loaded and I have a stylus to write on it as well. I do not shadow my kids at the park. It is their time to run around and have some freedom.

[KRG]

I always have my phone on me.  Yesterday my youngest played in the library and I played games, checked fb and texted dh on my phone.  I don't think I have to play with my child 24/7.  The world will not come to an end if I unwind for a few minutes/

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

I really hate these posts. Taking kids to the park is generally a good thing (assuming they want to be there, dressed appropriately for the weather, adequately supervised, and so forth). Why do people care so much what the parent is doing (again, assuming adequate supervision)? Should we just stay at home to use our phones and give our kids screentime so no one can see our iPhone-shame? 

 

 

Agreed.

 

As a child I went to the park alone. My parents didn't even come along, starting a very young age.  Using your smartphone, reading a book, being engrossed in talking with friends instead of watching your children non stop is OKAY.

[Rachel]

I keep it with me, I often read using my kindle app. I know people judge me for being on the phone at the park but would probably think nothing of it if I had a book. I'm with my kids all day every day except for church, we all need some decompression time.

[DawnM]

I don't go to the park much anymore as my kids are older, although we did just have a Sunday School lunch party in a park.

 

I usually have my phone with me, even if it is turned off.  I just keep it in my purse so I don't think much about it.

 

Dawn

[Arcadia]

I walk to the park so I need my phone with me for hubby to call me when he finish work to see if we want a ride home. If I'm going out with the kids I bring my phone for transport reasons being the non-driver. Hubby drops us off and picks us up.

If we go somewhere together, I can leave my phone at home.

Public phones are rare now. I used to be able to call my hubby on public phones at the parks.

[KungFuPanda]

I'm not sure that policing the other parents at the park is any less of a distraction than a phone. Either way you're not continuously gazing upon Junior lest he 'make a memory' without you noticing. This thread is clearly not about what this child was doing at the park, but what the mother chose to observe instead.

[Mandylubug]

No, I leave it in the car. However, that is so I am not interrupted while reading my book :p My kids are older, though. They want to run and play alone and not be in the middle of what I am doing. I find a lovely shaded tree with a swing and sit, they go into the "kids castle" and remain there until I call time to go.

[Mandylubug]

I don't have a smart phone.  Just a no frills mega cheap prepaid dumb phone that I rarely use.

 

I don't care what people do in that department, but it is rather comical to watch people.  They all look like a bunch of zombies. 

 

They do. I like to watch people in restaurants. There are SO many with their face in their phone and their kids are throwing food or wrestling and you just see them sort of motion them to stop, etc...

 

I try to put my phone on silent and out of sight when I am out and about.

[Alice]

We don't hang out at the park much anymore because there are never older kids there for my oldest to play with. But when I did go I was the Mom engrossed in her book or magazine. I was more of the park time is time for kids to run around and play without me mind-set. I'm a big believer in "benign neglect". :) 

 

I do have a smart phone now and have to take it everywhere because it also serves as my pager for work. I rarely get messages in the middle of the day but guaranteed that the one day I don't have it is the day I miss a text. The smart phone is relatively new for me and I really like the convenience. I think like anything else it's a tool. If you find that you abuse the tool and have a hard time putting it down, then it might be best to leave it at home. 

[Ali in OR]

The reason I have a phone is so that I can be reached if my disabled dd has a seizure while she's at school. So if I am out, my phone is charged and with me. If my disabled dd is with me, I need the phone to be able to play her tunes if she gets fussy (music calms her). The phone typically stays in my purse--I'm not one to be constantly using my phone. I agree with previous posters that it's nice to have a camera available whenever and I would not be comfortable leaving it in the car (heat/theft issues).

[Guest]

Well, if it works for you, then great! I don't leave my phone in the car for several reasons, safety & heat being the two main ones. An iPhone and 100+ degree heat don't mix. :-)

 

Yep.  My phone would not like the FL heat.  I always take it out with me, but 90% of the time it is in my pocket.  

[Mimm]

I'm another one who uses the phone a lot. I take pictures, text, browse the internet and I used to blog from it till my blogging app broke and I couldn't find a decent replacement. And I would absolutely be on the phone at the park if I wanted to, no guilt. I spend a ton of time with my kids, but I don't feel like I need to spend every waking moment paying complete attention to them. I don't think that's healthy for me or them.

[Guest]

I'm another one who uses the phone a lot. I take pictures, text, browse the internet and I used to blog from it till my blogging app broke and I couldn't find a decent replacement. And I would absolutely be on the phone at the park if I wanted to, no guilt. I spend a ton of time with my kids, but I don't feel like I need to spend every waking moment paying complete attention to them. I don't think that's healthy for me or them.

 

Didn't think about the picture taking part.  Of course my youngest is 12, but even when she was little, I still carried my phone on me a lot. I got some of the best pictures of my family with my phone.

[Χά�ων]

Meh. I do not have a toddler or a child who needs my constant attention so yeah, I am on my phone. If my 10 year old needs my constant attention to play at a park then there is something very wrong. 

[Barb_]

No, the phone stays on me.  I also use it to take pictures to send to DH at work.  But, even if I didn't, it would stay on me since it drastically loses its convenience factor being somewhere away from me.

 

Honestly, maybe that toddler in the swing is a real handful and this is the only time the mom gets to keep him/her happy and have a moment to "herself"?  I think sometimes people assume a bit too much about strangers and their phones from brief snapshots in public.  I'm sure I look like I am ignoring my toddler in Target and Trader Joe's to some because I keep checking my phone - but that's where I keep my shopping list.

 

Yeah, I had a lady get really pissy once because I pulled out my phone to check my list. Doubt that would have happened if it were on paper.

[catz]

I just got my first smart phone in the last month.  So checking mine all the time is not my habit at all.  Not to mention, I have republic wireless, so I need a wireless connection to do anything but call or text.  My son has a smart phone now though (through Republic - so he needs wireless) and even though I'm super glad he has it for his activities, he needs some limits on that thing. 

 

I do have lists and my calendar on both my iPad and my smart phone and when I'm waiting places, I regularly read on my iPad or like browse this board.  So maybe people think I'm a tech junkie too.  Whatever.  I LOVE using google calendar, which I can update and see on all my technology and my DH can also update from work. 

[BarbecueMom]

Not that I need to justify to anyone what I do on my phone, but I get motion sickness watching my kids on the swings. I can either stare off in the other direction or read if I'm pushing them, or they have to wait until they are able to swing themselves.

 

A couple of weeks ago we stopped at a park while running errands. Sunny and warm... and suddenly my text alert went off telling me we were under a severe thunderstorm warning. It popped up out of nowhere. The forecast before we left the house that day was a 0% chance of rain. Glad I had my phone out!

[Mergath]

I usually have my phone or more often a book with me at the park.  It's one of the few places I can actually get a few minutes to myself to read or chat with a friend.  I mean, I homeschool an only child.  My daughter is definitely not wanting for quality time with me, lol.

 

I saw some stupid meme on fb the other day that was a big, long diatribe along the lines of, "I see you at the playground, ignoring your kid while you sit there on your phone, maybe if you put it down you'd see the tears in your child's eyes..."  Obviously whoever wrote that isn't a stay-at-home homeschooling mom or they would understand that this is the first five minutes I've had to myself ALL DAY, and you're going to have to try a lot harder than that to make me feel guilty about it.

 

 

[JennyD]

I don't have a smartphone, which is probably a good thing, as it would distract me from my newspaper reading.  I always keep a few back issues of the NYT book review in my car, precisely for the purpose of park excursions.  :)  

 

[Barb_]

Geesh, like she didn't have something better to do?

 

I know, right?  I pulled it out *as we were walking* and she got all irritable and tried to shove around us with her cart.  

 

I've told this story before, but there was another time when I was grocery shopping with three of my kids, one of the girls called because she was having an issue with the little one not behaving.  I pulled my cart to the side out of the way to quickly diffuse the situation.  The store was empty and I wasn't in anyone's way, but this older woman pulled up right behind me and interrupted me to tell me to put the phone away and pay attention to my kids. WTH??  :confused1:  :confused1:  

 

I think smart phones are triggers for some people.  I'll admit to feeling a little annoyed when I see a table full of people who never look up from their phones, but that's my problem, not theirs.  I don't let my kids have smart phones or ipads at dinner because I think they are old enough to learn to wait a while for a meal and to hold a conversation.  I did, however, allow my high energy 5yo (then 4) to have the phone to play on when we hit a bunch of museums last summer.  Most of the exhibits were over her head, so she paid attention to the hour's worth that she could enjoy, then the rest of us were able to stay for 2-3 hours longer than we would be able to without the electronics.  I remember what it was like hauling toddlers to art or history museums.  The visits were much shorter pre-smartphone.

 

Smartphones are tools.  Some people can become addicted to the constant ping, and of course that's not good. But it's their business, not mine!  Hey, my mom rarely took me to the park when I was a little kid because she had to carve out a couple of hours from her busy day.  My kids go a lot more often because I can use the time to call the insurance company, make hotel reservations, check my calendar, return some emails, shop for curriculum, or plan my summer trip.  Since I can knock some things off my to do list, I'll stop off at playgrounds once every week or two instead of 3-4 times a year.

 

Save your emotional energy and enjoy your little people.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I wish people would mind their own business.

[LucyStoner]

My phone comes with me. I am in a situation where I really can't miss any calls.

 

Most of the time it stays in my pocket. If I need to do something on my phone, or want to do something on my phone, I am probably sitting on a bench and not trying to multitask.

 

That said, sometimes I take the kids to the park SPECIFICALLY so that I can have a conversation on my phone. I've done that a several times in the last couple of months- we've been helping with my niece and nephew a lot and sometimes I need to talk to someone during business hours about something I don't want all of the kids hearing. It was easier to accomplish that with 4 kids ages 5-12 playing happily at a park while mama/aunt talks out of earshot to this or that attorney or investigator or whatnot.

 

I take my kids to the park nearly every freaking day. Much of that time I play with them (especially my little guy) actively.

I don't feel badly about the times I either need to, or want to, sit on the bench with my phone or book or magazine.

 

Honestly it sort of feels like being asked to never drink because someone else can't control their drinking. Some people neglect their families all the time. It's difficult to tell who is neglectful or getting downtime or juggling a lot of pins at the park. Still, I've had a couple of people say something including one time when someone said something like "you're on Facebook on such a nice day." One, I wasn't on Facebook (I was typing my to-dos and adding crap to my calendar from my email, a task overlooked with four kids in my home, 2 on an emergency basis) and two, MYOB.

[Catwoman]

If my kids were still young enough to enjoy park visits -- no, I wouldn't leave my phone in the car. It would probably be either hot enough or cold enough to be detrimental to the battery. Plus, what if an emergency occurred and I needed to call 911?

 

But I'm not a slave to my phone. It's a useful and often fun device, but one that I can easily ignore when real life is happening. (Please note I don't mean that to sound arrogant or holier-than-anyone-else, I just don't know how else to phrase it. Probably need more caffeine. ;))

:iagree:

 

Same here. My phone is always with me, but I'm not constantly using it.