Why I Stopped Being a PHONE-Y Father...

Father's day is coming up and thanks to my son, I can proudly say that I've been a father for a quarter of a century! That blows my mind to even think about. Overall I think I've done a pretty good job as a dad. I definitely didn't get it right all the time, but the intent was to the best I could with what I had and what I knew (or thought I knew) at the time.

Are there things I wish I would've done different? Absolutely! One of the things I wish I didn't learn the hard way was that when we are glued to our devices it can send a message to our children that they are not a priority to us. I remember when Facebook and Twitter just started catching on fire and I thought that as an entrepreneur, author, speaker, and entertainer, that I had to be on those sites constantly. Even when my kids were around. So much so that they told their mom they didn't really like being around me because I was always on my phone. When she told me that it was definitely a punch to the gut. Did I immediately change my behavior? Probably not. I know it took a little time, but I became determined to make sure they knew that they meant more to me than anyone on my phone.

I call it being a Respond-able father. I needed to understand that if I didn't respond to my children, someone else would. And it probably wouldn't be my first preference of a person!

So as we celebrate Father's day, remember that as parents and even educators and service providers, we should strive to be the best first responders to our children that we can possibly be.

Here's a real quick video that explains why we should make our Respond-ability to our children a top priority. Please watch, react, and if you like it, go ahead and share it!