Being a Present Mum

I came across this image online today (I think it is originally from here) and it resonated with me because at the moment I am consciously trying to be a more present Mum. It is so easy to get caught up in how much has to be done between work and home that it is easy to just let the kids come along for the ride without being present in each moment with them. Probably the worst culprit for my lack of presence on a day to day basis is my Iphone. Between Facebook, Instagram, Email, Pinterest, Youtube and Blogger I can often get lost staring at that stupid screen! I admit I find it cute when my 11 month old girl grabs my phone, puts it to her ear and says "Hawwo Dada" and then holds it in front of her and starts punching the screen with her finger. She has even on more than one occasion managed to slide the button across to unlock the screen! But it also breaks my heart because I know she is imitating me and I know that if she is imitating this action so much at 11 months old that it is because she has seen it on so many occasions in her short life. How many moments have I lost in the past 11 months because my face was buried in that screen! My husband and I try to pull each other up on it, but sometimes it is such a habit that you don't even realise you are doing it! My 3 year old has now said to me a few times "Put the phone down Mummy!". As I type this I cringe!

So I am making it my mission to be more present every day with my family. An example of a time when I know I am really bad at this is when I take the kids to the park. Now that Mason is getting older he can happily play on the playground without needing me to be right next to him the whole time and Chloe isn't quite old enough so she will usually be sitting in the pram playing with a toy or eating some food. In the past I would have probably sat on the bench and watched Mason whilst intermittently looking down at my phone. I'm not saying that I would completely ignore the kid, I would still push him on the swing and watch him come down the slide, but i would often hear him say "Mummy, watch this" because he had looked over at me and seen that i was looking at my phone. Yesterday we went to the park and I left my phone under the pram (only taking it out to take a few cute photos and then putting it straight back!) and enjoyed playing with him the entire time. We played hide and seek and it was the best fun ever!!!

Here are those cute photos :-)

Being a more present Mummy is definitely one of my new goals! Is this something you struggle with too? How do you make sure you are present in the moment? I would love to hear from you :)

Sophia xo

PS. I think I am going to try and print of the picture at the beginning of this post, frame it and hang it somewhere in my house as a daily reminder!