Do you ever feel like you struggling being present as a parent? Like, no matter how hard you try to be present with your child, you are still thinking about something else. If so, this blog post is for you.

All I wanted to be was a present parent.

When I was New Age Spirituality, I wanted to be a present parent for my daughter. I wanted to sit down, play with her, and enjoy hanging out with her. But instead of focusing my time on her, I was too busy thinking about myself and how I wanted to be materially successful. Narcissist much?

So instead of focusing on her, I would listen to self-help podcasts and audiobooks in the background. I thought I was bettering myself when in all actuality, I was losing that one-on-one connection I had with my daughter. Although it seemed harmless at the time to throw on a podcast, it is one of my biggest regrets. I missed most of her life, even though I was with her for 99% of it.

The turn-around

I would love to tell you that I have everything figured out and that I’m the most present parent, but I would be lying. However, since leaving New Age Spirituality and Jesus entering my life, I’ve made leaps and bounds in being a present parent. What helped were these three tips! Ready to see what they are? Let’s go!

1) Turn off all distractions

One of the easiest ways to be a present parent is by turning off all distractions. So many people jump to social media being a distraction (which it totally is), but I dare you to go deeper than that. What distracts you when you are spending time with your child?

Here is a small list that might be distracting for you—anything involving your phone, social media, video games, podcasts, audiobooks, and TV.

When you turn off all distractions, you can easily focus solely on your child and nothing else. Of course, I can’t say you won’t think about other things while being present with your child; however, with time, it gets easier.

2) Get down and be at eye level

Sounds pretty obvious. But as parents, we tend to hover over our children instead of being at eye level. Although it is a good thing we hover over our children to ensure they are not getting into something they are not supposed to, it can simultaneously be a hindrance when trying to be a present parent.

When you get down and be at eye level with your child, not only will your child be more responsive to you, but you will ultimately be more present with your child. As a result, you can enjoy hanging out and playing with them.

3) Be intentional

Do you have enough time in the day to finish things but still want to be as present as possible with your child? Then, be as intentional when carving out time to spend with them.

For example, if you are a stay-at-home mom with your child all the time, that might look like carving out playtime in your schedule so you can give your child that one-on-one attention. It can also look like setting boundaries where everyone’s phones are off at dinner time and sitting around the dinner table together intentionally spending time together.

When you are intentional about how you spend your time with your child, not only does it help you be a present parent and it strengthens your relationship with your child.

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