One of the weirdest things about your little kids getting older, I find, is when they start to be able to hold full conversations with you.
That leap from goo-goo, gah-ing to "Hello mummy, I would like some food, please" seems to go by in an absolute flash and there has been more than one occasion where I have sat there and thought to myself "Who ARE you?" of my toddler.
His speech blows my mind. Of course, I think he's brilliant. Every parent thinks that of his or her child, but the way he observes the world around him, interprets and remembers it is truly astounding to me.
So the other day, this 2½-year-old (the half is important at this age) who calls himself my son said some words that have rung in my ears ever since.
"Mummy, put your phone away," he murmured.
"What did you say?" I replied, not in an angry way, more of a did-he-just-say-what-I-think-he-said tone.
"Put your phone away, Mummy," he repeated.
I was so shocked.
I wasn't ignoring him at the time. Quite the opposite, in fact. We had just engaged in some pretty good role-play with some new toy dinosaurs I'd purchased that day and I had got my phone out to take a photo of my little man with his new little mates.
OK, so when I say it like that, I was totally ignoring him, but I guess what I'm trying to say was I hadn't been on my phone for hours, ignoring his pleas for me to play while he hung off my legs.
I was halfway through uploading the picture to Instagram (#dinoobsessed, #dinosaurlife, #raisingboys #girlslikedinostoo) when his statement made me instantly stop what I was doing.
I looked at his sweet little face and in that instant it really dawned on me how much influence this silly little piece of technology (that I love and adore) has over our family.
I do try to not be that parent that is always on their phone. I don't try super hard, in the sense that I don't have any hard and fast rules about when and where I will and won't use my phone, but I am certainly a lot more conscious of it now that the kids are that much older.
When they were just little blobs, the ability to tune out online through my phone was a middle-of-the-night cluster feed lifesaver.
Having that ability to connect with other mums at stupid o'clock in the morning to whinge and moan, while indulging in late-night online shopping, was golden.
But now that the little sponges literally hang off everything I say and do, I have come to realise that I have to take responsibility for my actions and put myself in their shoes a bit more than I probably do now.
I'm the first to admit that poor phone etiquette really peeves me off, but I am absolutely guilty of it at the same time.
I have been known to chuck my toys when my husband is buried deep in his phone while I am trying to have a conversation with him, so of course my kids are going to do the same with me.
There have been thoughts and discussions about 'banning' phones at certain times or putting them in a bowl when we are having family time, but of course that never eventuates into anything permanent.
Instead, I have tried to really cut down the time I spend in front of the screen when the little ones are around.
Don't get me wrong. I still have my phone close, because I am obsessed with taking photos of them as they grow and develop.
But, instead, now I will quite often snap away and then wait till after their bedtime when I go through and re-live the tears, tantrums and utter cuteness through the blurry, often-quite-ridiculous photos that I take in the course of the day.
I've also noticed that when we are devoting our full attention to the kids, their behaviour is so much better. The minute we sit down in front of a computer, iPad or phone screen, or do anything that isn't reflecting our entire attention on them (like cooking dinner or hark, attempting to go to the toilet alone!), all hell breaks loose.
And I don't blame them for it. It's part of working out who you are in the world, pushing boundaries and having expectations of those around you. And it's not unreasonable for my little dude to tell me to put his phone away, especially in the sweet, little, apologetic way that he did it. I almost cried on the spot.
I just thought I would have a few more years up my sleeve before my babies started showing such a wise and knowing attitude to their old lady. Lesson learned.
- Stuff NZ