This Harsh Letter One Creche Put Up Got Some Very Mixed Reviews From Parents

To say that smartphones have changed the way we live is almost a bit of an understatement. From watching films to checking the weather or setting your alarm clock, the vast majority of us spend an large chunk of time every day glued to our phones – something that have said to be causing both sleep disorders and marriage breakdowns if experts are to be believed. What is even more worrying, if you ask me, is that today's children are at risk of growing up with mums and dads that are more concerned with Facebook updates and WhatsApp conversations than they are with them. This might sound dramatic, but my light-bulb moment came two years ago, when I was sitting on the sofa one afternoon with my little girl as she was watching her favourite Barbie movie for the 600th time. Just as her favourite scene was coming up, one where Barbie organizes an entire Paris fashion show, she glanced up at me to see was I watching, but saw me looking down at my phone instead. And swift as it was, I caught it, that little look of disappointment that I wasn't sharing that moment with her, small and insignificant as it may seem, and it changed something for me. I got up and put my phone out on the console table in the hallway. And I left it there until after she was in bed that night. And I have continued to do so and still does today. I have the volume on, if it rings, I will answer, but from we walk through the door in the afternoon until they are in bed, I leave it sitting there. And do you know what? I don't miss it for a second. I think we all sometimes need a little reminder of this, or a light-bulb moment like mine. Which might be what this creche was hoping to achieve by putting a rather harsh letter up to remind parents to get off their phones. It was Facebook user Juliana Farris Mazurkewicz that recently posted a picture of the sign, posted at her children's daycare facility, to Facebook and the letter reads: “You are picking up your child! GET OFF YOUR PHONE!!!! Your child is happy to see you! Are you happy to see your child?? “We have seen children trying to hand their parents their work they completed and the parent is on the phone. We have heard a child say “Mommy, mommy,mommy…” and the parent is paying more attention to their phone than their own child. It is appalling. Get off your phone!!" The letter, while probably intended to just make parents realize what their phone use might be doing to their kids, is obviously rather harshly worded, and did indeed receive some mixed reactions when Mazurkewicz shared it on social media. “I used to love that huge cuddle and seeing my children at the end of the day. However often kids were tired and cranky so wanted none of it. Sometimes people are on the phone to work and have had trouble leaving demanding jobs. Everyone needs empathy and compassion it is hard being a working parent and juggling everything,” one parent commented. “Wish more people would “unplug” and enjoy the simple things in life! You would find way more happiness and gratification if you did!” wrote another. I have always loved the slightly more gentle reminder hanging on the door of the creche my nieces go to in Oslo, that simply reminds parents coming to pick up their kids: "You are about to have your MOST important meeting today. Please switch off your phones and be present." What do YOU think, parents? Are we ignoring our children in favour of our smartphones? Do you have rules when it comes to phone use when you children are around? Let us know in the comments or tweet us at @Herfamilydotie