Entry #2: Child: 0 VS Technology: 1

A child and her mother walked into Sally's and I greeted the two how I greet everyone who walks into our store, "Hello, welcome to Sally's! Can we help you find anything today?" The mother did say anything or even make eye contact because her mind was occupied by whatever was going on, on her phone. Her six year old daughter looked at me and smiled as they walked to the direction of the color aisle. Two minutes later the daughter begins

knocking products off of our organized shelves. The mother, who is still too busy looking thru our colors and whatever is on her phone, didn't even acknowledge her child's actions. They continue shopping but the mom is still on her smart phone while carrying her basket and slowly switching aisles hoping she doesn't run into anything while her head is down. The second time her child knocks something off the shelf she sternly snapped at her daughter, "Honey, stop!" The four other customers in our store, my coworker, and I turned ours necks with curiosity and to our surprise the mother's face was still glued to her device. "Ummm excuse me lady, your daughter is tearing up our store," is what I thought to myself.

According to http://www.nbcnews.com/health/parenting/put-down-cellphone-study-finds-parents-distracted-devices-n47431 it has become a common thing for parents to be distracted on their cellphones instead of providing their child with the right amount of parenting a child deserves. When parents are too occupied with their devices they "don't have time" to spend a minute or two to give their child the attention they need. Children often

misbehave in order to receive more attention from the people they look up to, but parents who spend the majority of their time on their smart phones don't realize how much their actually neglecting their child. Attention is something that children need while growing up in order to develop communication skills and direction is something they need in order not to end up in jail. It is sad because children just want acknowledgment, but snappy replies can make them feel unloved. They shouldn't have to compete with a device for the attention of their own parents.