Actor Aaron Paul has explained why he’s no longer using his phone around his kids.
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If you didn’t know, the Breaking Bad alum shares two children — a 3-year-old son named Ryder and a 7-year-old daughter named Story — with his wife, Lauren Parsekian.
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During a recent talk at WSJ Tech Live, Aaron revealed that he made a promise not to use his phone when he’s with his kids after an emotional moment with his daughter.
“My daughter comes running in and she’s asking me a question,” he began, clarifying that she was 6 at the time. “And I’m trying to just finish this quick email. And then she stopped asking, and she kind of went and started playing.”
“I put my phone down and I went to her [and said], ‘I wanna say I’m sorry for not being responsive to you,’” Aaron recalled.
“‘I wanna make a pact with you right now. A promise. Daddy’s not gonna be on his phone when he’s with you anymore,’” he continued, before revealing his daughter’s moving response.
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“She did a one-word response. She looks at me and she goes, ‘Really?’” he said. “It broke my heart. It really did break my heart.”
“I go, ‘I promise you, I won’t.’ And she just jumped up and threw her arms around me like she won the biggest prize,” he shared.
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Aaron went on to remind parents not to let technology “control” them around their children. “We owe it to our kids to at least give it a shot!” he said, later adding, “You can choose whether the technology controls you. You should control the technology.”
Loads of people, including parents, have since shared their thoughts on Aaron’s comments. Several agreed with his sentiment and praised him for displaying a “beautiful example of fatherhood,” with one person writing, “I leave my phone in my car or bag when i spend time with my 4yo son. Sure, I might miss opportunities for pictures, but it’s worth it so I don’t miss out on any moment with him.”
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“Man, I wish my mother would say this to/do this for me. She’s always on her phone with me and will cut me off mid-sentence in order to read me her texts if they happen to come in while I’m talking. It’s annoying and demoralizing. I’m glad he’s realizing it early on,” another comment read.
“The most valuable thing we can give our children is our time,” someone said, while one more user wrote, “The way he transforms a simple moment into something so profound.”
However, some people shared an opposing view. “I think the kid can deal with having to be patient for 30 seconds lol,” one popular Instagram comment read, to which someone replied, “I think when you’re with your kids, be with your kids. Don’t say you’re with them when you’re really just in the same room on your phone. But kids do also need to learn to be bored, play by themselves for a time, use their imagination, and recognize the adults are busy, or are talking, etc., and that’s OK.”
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“As someone with an almost 1-year-old, this is genuinely a very hard struggle. It’s one part ‘I’ve taught myself to rely on mindless scrolling as a way to feel better quickly’ and one part ‘all of my life and business is on my phone, so I really do need to be on there sometimes.’ Idk man. We’re all doomed probably, but…I respect the reflection,” another person added on Reddit.
Let us know what you think in the comments.
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