What happens when you put your children ahead of Facebook
'Don't be too busy on social media, you never know who is watching and what message you are sending'
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Your support makes all the difference.A mother has implored other parents to cut back on technology and spend more time with their families.
Brandie Wood's message comes after she completed an experiment in which she noted that her two-year-old twin sons looked at her 28 times for a reaction or approval as they played.
It led her to question what her children would have thought had she been on her phone or computer every time they looked at her.
Ms Wood, from California, posted the results of her experiment on Facebook earlier this month. Her powerful message has since been shared more than 70,000 times.
Today I did an experiment, I watched my boys play. As I sat quietly in the corner of the room I tallied how many times...
Posted by Brandie Wood on Monday, 2 November 2015
“Today I did an experiment, I watched my boys play. As I sat quietly in the corner of the room I tallied how many times they looked at me for various reasons: to see if I saw their cool tricks, to seek approval or disapproval for what they were doing, and to watch my reactions,” she wrote on the social networking site.
“I couldn't help but wonder if I was on some sort of technology what message would I have been sending? [Twenty-eight] times my angels would have wondered if the World Wide Web was more important than them… [Twenty-eight] times my loves would have questioned if they were alone emotionally. [Twenty-eight] times my kids would have been reassured that who you are online is what really matters.”
She asked others to prioritise spending time with their families over social media.
“The next generation of children is counting on us to teach them how to be adults, don't be too busy on social media, you never know who is watching and what message you are sending," she said.
In another Facebook post, Ms Wood said she was happy her message had “touched so many”.
“We as a people have the power to change things,” she added.
Speaking to The Huffington Post, the mother said that technology use needed to be limited.
“I am guilty of being connected to my phone as well. This experience has completely humbled me to be more present.”
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