Shut Up Mummy is on The Phone

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Inquisitive baby.

We chase kids away because we are married to our phones. It’s criminal, but it doesn’t have a sentence. Does that make sense? Probably not. It is also not regarded as child abuse.

Kids hurt when we reject them for cellphones. They don’t want to make mummy or daddy angry, so they try not to disturb them, but it’s like a stream that froze midway, for no apparent reason.

Kids cannot help themselves, just like streams. Their destiny is going through rocks and vegetation. The direction changes from left to right or east west. The journey might end in a river or a waterfall. Streams don’t have a choice, so do kids. They wish they could be fascinating things in the phone, that hypnotize mummy or daddy.

What is most painful is electricity. It is cut off. Sitting next to mummy or daddy is forbidden. That’s why they are banished to another chair. They approach cautiously to touch parents when they’re hungry. They don’t like potato chips but it’s ready made food to stop them from being a nuisance.

Kids miss eye contact. It shows mum and dad how much they love them. Eye contact is also a directive to be picked up, cuddled, to be made safe. Kids know where they belong.

That is why they are wary of strangers who want to touch them. The greatest compliment for relatives or friends is when children extend the little arms to someone they recognize.

Eye contact is also important for approval. They stood up for the first time. They kicked a ball and fell down. They shared their feeding bottle with an older sister.

All that can wait. The world is digital. Cellphones have improved humanity in more ways than one, so kids just chill. ‘Mummy is on the phone’. It doesn’t matter that kids are on the beach, swimming pool or at the zoo.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.

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