Book Review – Hands Free Mama

What We Love Wednesday – Book Review

Hands Free Mama

Raise your hand is you have a smart phone or computer.

Raise your hand is you are a parent, have a family or have a friend.

Then this book is for you.

Yes, it is written to mamas, but trust me, we can all use this message.  Technology is so prevalent in our culture.  It is virtually impossible to not use it and many forms of it are helpful and beneficial.  Like many things however, technology – our phones, tablets, screens – can take over our lives.

I sat at Panera the other day trying to wrangle my 4 kiddos and carry 27 trays of food to our table.  Sitting behind me was a lady with a 4 or 5 year old boy.  He had his tablet propped up watching a TV show and she was flipping through her phone.  It made my heart incredibly sad.

Do my kids use screens?  Yes, they do.  Do we have a perfect system of how often they use them? No, we do not.  Have I been guilty of shoving a screen at my kid in desperation in order to keep them occupied.  Yep, unfortunately I have.

But friends, there is a better way.

As a society we have bought a pack of lies that we need to be entertained and that our children need to be occupied.  Far too often this is achieved through screens or other technology.  In her book Hands Free Mama: A Guide to Putting Down the Phone, Burning the To-Do List, and Letting Go of Perfection to Grasp What Really Matters!, Rachel Mary Stafford unpacks why we should put down the screens and to do lists and learn to connect.  I found this book is extremely practical and helpful.

She has a series of follow on books as well that address practical ways to slow down and focus on the things that matter most – the people around us.  They can be found on her website.

One example she give is what to do while waiting for an appointment in a doctor’s office.  The temptation is to hand our kids a screen and pick up our phones, but think of the connection that we miss with our children when this scenario is repeated time after time after time.

I have been convicted of this particular example and have challenged myself never to use a screen in a waiting room.  If my kids are with me, we bring a “go bag.”  We keep the go bag stocked with books, crayons, coloring books and small toys for Jake.  Even if I am waiting somewhere by myself, I try to read rather than check emails or surf social media.

So, here’s the challenge – if you look at your phone this week, while attempting to carry on a conversation with another person, read this book.

I pray that my kids will remember me looking into their eyes when they talk to me.  I pray that I will give them my full attention.  I am charged with raising four members of the next generation, there is absolutely nothing on my phone more important than that.

Have you read this book?  If so, what did you think? What other books you have read on this topic?