VM Voices: Hey Mom! Tell your kid to put the phone down!
Hey Mom! Tell your kid to put the phone down!
It’s not my job to tell you how to parent your kid, just like it’s not your job to tell me how to parent mine. But please … can we at least have a level of common sense that we agree on? Some sort of “that’s right, that’s wrong, that’s obnoxious so stop doing it” agreement that is a baseline for all parenting?
Things that should be on the obnoxious list: letting your kids kick the seat in front of them on a plane, watching your children throw sand in another kid’s face at the playground, and letting your kid turn on a cell phone in a dark theatre so she can record a live performance.
Now please take the cell phone away and teach her how to be present in the moment and enjoy the show.
Last month, I took my 8-year-old twins Lucy and Sam to see The World of Dance Live Tour at The Centre in Vancouver. I spent good money on tickets so they could see their favourite dancers from the TV show perform live. I can only assume the woman in front of me, sitting in the front row of the balcony, also spent a good chunk of change for her and her daughter to see the show.
I’m more than happy to spend the money to expose my kids to live theatre. I grew up dancing and performing, and there’s nothing like a live performance; watching a story unfold in front of you, being captivated and swept away as the performers transport you to another world.
… there’s nothing like a live performance; watching a story unfold in front of you, being captivated and swept away as the performers transport you to another world…
But you know what will snap you back to reality in a nano-second? A 6-year-old in the row in front of you turning on a cell phone in a dark theatre! I watched as this girl continuously adjusted her camera angle, leaning over the balcony to position her phone just right so she could record the dance performance her mom just paid big money to see LIVE! This little girl not only distracted everyone around her and robbed us of the live theatre experience; she also robbed herself of the opportunity to watch her favourite dancers in-person instead of through a screen.
And I don’t fault the 6-year-old who wanted to record her favourite dancers. I do, however, fault her mother for handing her the cell phone to begin with and not stopping her when she turned it on and started recording … multiple times throughout the show.
So to that mom who was sitting in the front row of the balcony: Thank you for taking your child to a live theatre performance. Thank you for instilling a love of dance at a young age. Thank you for exposing her to the world of live performance.
Now please take the cell phone away and teach her how to be present in the moment and enjoy the show.
Amy Beeman is mom to twins Sam and Lucy. She is also a VM Top 30 Blogger, Leading Moms speaker and radio personality.
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Banner Photo Credit: www.thesun.co.uk
