Parents shouldn’t be allowed to have cell phones

You’ve all met that person. You know, the one who hauls the mini album out of their purse or wallet, bursting with photos of their kids.

“Here is little Jimmy, Timmy, Susie and our dog Max.” You didn’t ask to see pictures — come to think of it, you didn’t even strike up the conversation.

This sort of display always garners the same reaction.  A forced smile and a “Wow, they grow up so fast don’t they.”  This is almost always followed by a long exhale and an eye roll once the proud parent leaves you.

I don’t have a single picture in my wallet.  I never have.  I don’t need to.  I have a cell phone.

Parents all over the country have abandoned the oldest of wallet traditions and no longer need to carry the clear plastic inserts filled with the latest school photos. No, no, no. Parents now have the capability of bringing with them at all times the 1,500 most recent photos of their child to show off to everyone (OK anyone) who will stop long enough to look.

With the advancement of technology we now have cameras on our phones, enough memory to store a year’s worth of precious moments, and the ability to annoy people to levels never before conceived.

For a long time I wondered why people do this.  Why do they feel the need to show off their kids to the world in this fashion? Then I had a baby… and I figured it out.

Babies are new. So in the way you would over-wax your new truck, or flaunt in the sunlight that new engagement ring, you show off your bright and shiny baby.  You don’t wait to be asked. You bust our that iPhone and scroll through a montage of all the cute things your kid has done lately for the world to see.

So in the spirit of proud, over-sharing parents with smart phones everywhere, I’ll leave with a bunch of pictures of a kid you don’t really know and didn’t ask to see. Isn’t he growing up so fast.

here he is on a 4 wheeler

here he is trapped in a tote

here he is sleeping

here he is sitting on a toy

here he is being attacked by a gang of pumpkins

here he is about to knock over the tower I spent time building for him

Pat Lemieux

About Pat Lemieux

Pat has it all, family, big old house, dogs, a young son and a quarter-life crisis. He blogs about trying to be who he has always been and be who he now needs to be. He enjoys 90's grunge metal, tasty local brews and the outdoors.