Photo credit: Scallop Holden, Creative Commons (flickr)
A couple days ago, while sitting at LAX waiting for my flight to board, I observed something that – unfortunately – seems to be a bit too common. Here was a dad and his two boys traveling together (not so bad). And dad was on the phone (not necessarily bad). And the boys were literally running around the airport keeping themselves occupied. It’s hard to describe in text (I thought it would be too obvious if I took out my phone to record), but the boys (probably 8 and 10 years old) were playfully beating on eachother, chasing eachother, and so-on. Not necessarily bad activity; but also not great for an airport.
To make matters worse (and the part that bugged me the most) is the fact that the entire time, Dad was on the phone chatting away with someone. Dialogue…perpetual smiling…occasional laughter. He would occasionally point to his boys, but never say anything to them – or, heaven forbid – hang up the phone. We’re not talking 10 seconds on the phone…several minutes by the time their boarding group was finally called and he hung up to head to the boarding door.
So, what’s the point?
There are times when we have to take a phone call. And there are times when our kids are being goofy. But I sure hope that I never become so keyed in to my phone conversation that I utterly ignore my kids altogether. And especially at a place like an airport where A) who-knows-what could happen to them; or B) where there is an abundance of educational opportunity to share the world with your kids. I’m not perfect, but I sure hope I remember this situation in the future.
kevin white 