Children Get Emotionally Crushed; Wish They Are as Important to Their Phone-Crazy Parents

Phone-Obsessed Parents Kids Rejected Phone-Crazy Parents Sentiments of Kids Importance of Attention Importance of Relationship

By Jo Anne Hubert , Parent Herald Oct 15, 09:06 pm

Photo: (Photo : Pexel/Kampus Production)

Parents who are obsessed with their phones are causing deep emotional scars to their kids, revealed a trauma counselor.

Heartbreaking confessions from children as young as 6 years old to 16 who are undergoing trauma counseling have reflected deep pains, disappointments and frustrations towards their parents due to rejection from their parents who cannot get off their phones.

The trauma counseling sessions were handled by a therapist named Courtney, a wife, mother, entrepreneur, and has 15 years of experience in the Mental Health field. She wrote down her clients' sentiments on sticky notes, compiled them and shared them through a video on her TikTok account @ask.courtney.

'Wish I was as important as their phone...'

One of the saddest and heart wrenching statements came from a 6 year old who stated how her parents prioritize their devices more than their kids.

"I wish I was as important as their phone," the child expressed.

Another comment came from a 9-year-old who shared that their parents, if not busy, are always on their phone. The kid has already come to a point where he/she asked why he/she is even here, and admitted his/her desire to leave home.

Another 9-year old expressed how rejected he/she feels towards his/her mother who is "too busy" texting her friends all day. The kid even said that his/her mom should just tell him/her the truth that she is just trying to always avoid her child.

A 16-year-old admitted that the reason why he/she yells and demands is due to his/her mom always responding "in a minute," and yet hours go by and he/she is ignored and forgotten. A 13-year-old agreed with this sentiment as this child also said that they misbehave and annoy their parents because it is the only way they could get the attention they wanted.

A 10-year-old expressed how he/she longs for his/her love to be reciprocated by his/her parents. This child wishes that he/she knew if he/she is also loved.

Wake-up call to parents

The sentiments became a wake-up call for parents across the world. Many expressed their guilt on focusing too much on their devices instead of giving more attention to their children.

One comment from an adult stressed that the sentiments of the kids were so sad yet very true. The person even called out parents and said to put their cellphones down, stop fighting altogether, and use the time and energy instead to engage with their children.

James A. Roberts, Ph.D., professor of marketing at Baylor University and the author of Too Much of a Good Thing: Are You Addicted to Your Cell Phone?, reminded parents that with how busy families are today, all the time and moments spent on phones have a "heavy price to pay." He further stressed that time is precious, thus, should be spent vigilantly. He suggested that as a family, there must be a spouse-to-spouse or parent-to-child time that is free of devices.

"Relationships are the cornerstone of our happiness. (Using one's phone while interacting with another person) makes us feel bad, but even worse, it leads to unhappiness and depression," Dr. Roberts warned.