After agreeing on phone rules, I ride the elevator alone
Even after my child and I agree on phone time, the moment the elevator doors close, I keep replaying what I just said.
Scenes
- The words I just said come back to me in the elevator — When I ride the elevator alone after setting phone time with my child, I wonder if I really listened to them before we agreed.
- We set a time, but my child stayed quiet — At dinner, the parent set phone time, and the child only nodded. The agreement ended without another question.
- Alone in the elevator, I regret not hearing my child out — Only after the elevator doors closed did the parent remember never asking what amount of phone time the child wanted.
- A promise becomes shared when your child gets a say — In conversations between parents and children, rules aren’t set by the parent’s standards alone. When your child can share the time they want and why they can stick to it, the agreement becomes something you made together.
- Tonight, ask how much time your child wants first — When you sit down with your child tonight, first ask how much phone time they want. Even if they don’t answer right away, wait for them to find the words.
- You can revisit an agreement — Even rules you’ve already agreed on can be discussed again when circumstances change. A question that comes to mind in the elevator can open the next conversation.
Stories by Cheongun
- Cheongun
- At the light, I think of what I want to say to my family.
- At lunch, I want to choose my child’s career path for them.
- When I step out after washing and stand before the mirror, the comparisons in my family come back to me.
- After the meeting, the plans and the spur-of-the-moment ideas clash again.
- When we get home from work, the first thing we talk about at the door is caring for our parents.
- As we left the exam room, Mom asked first.
- We put off the decision again while doing the dishes
- I set aside money for my younger sibling from my first paycheck