by Happymummy2014 » Tue May 02, 2023 11:11 am
Coffee Cake, I share your pain! During family time, especially mealtimes, my otherwise very lovely husband checks his messages, watches the football, or Googles something. It drives me batty and I have taken to asking him to stop in front of the children (which I know one shouldn’t do). I’m partly thinking of the example it sets for the kids, currently too young to have their own phones - I loathe the idea of spending their teenage years with a table-full of everyone glued to their phones, though I accept at other times they probably will be. I’ve been thinking hard about this over the long weekend and (wearing my professional mediator hat) am planning a compromise. I’ve worked out which times are the most important for me (mealtimes) and I can live with him doing it at other times even if I wish he wouldn’t. So I’m going to put a box or basket in the next room, and ask him to agree that we will both put our phones in it during mealtimes (not that I actually use mine, but fair’s fair). Would something like that be worth trying for your family? Choosing your own non-negotiables and which bits you can live with, obviously.
Coffee Cake, I share your pain! During family time, especially mealtimes, my otherwise very lovely husband checks his messages, watches the football, or Googles something. It drives me batty and I have taken to asking him to stop in front of the children (which I know one shouldn’t do). I’m partly thinking of the example it sets for the kids, currently too young to have their own phones - I loathe the idea of spending their teenage years with a table-full of everyone glued to their phones, though I accept at other times they probably will be. I’ve been thinking hard about this over the long weekend and (wearing my professional mediator hat) am planning a compromise. I’ve worked out which times are the most important for me (mealtimes) and I can live with him doing it at other times even if I wish he wouldn’t. So I’m going to put a box or basket in the next room, and ask him to agree that we will both put our phones in it during mealtimes (not that I actually use mine, but fair’s fair). Would something like that be worth trying for your family? Choosing your own non-negotiables and which bits you can live with, obviously.