How The Monsters Will Take Over the World

My wife and I took our grandchildren to Empire Park.
A vast wooden citadel comprised of monkey bars, tire bridges, swaying steps, and towers.
Bash and Goose, my two grandsons, implored me to enter into the wooden kingdom and “adventure” with them.
Admittedly, I had a lot of fun.

Roaring aloud, I hunted them down.
I slid down the fireman pole, and the slide, and climbed both—repeatedly.
With stealth agility, I climbed across the monkey bars and the tire bridges.

As Bash, Goose and I ran amuck like wild men something weird transpired.
Other little children noticed that I was helping my grandsons climb the fireman’s pole, tread the tire bridge…

Suddenly I was like Peter Pan (without the freaky tight green leggings).

The children were chasing me, begging me to help them across the tire bridge, traverse the chain bridge, follow them into the tower…
They begged me to hold their hand, to carry them here or there.

Peering into their big, innocent eyes I saw something unsettling:
Desperation.

They desperately wanted attention, affirmation and love.
They begged for it…and I was the only one offering it to them.

Where were their parents?

I surveyed the playground.
I found them. All of them.
Heads bowed.
Shoulders hunched.
Watching that damn phone.

YouTube. TickTock.
They were immersed in a non-reality.
Something that had already been.
Those videos were pre-recorded.
Life has moved on since.

They were immersed in a non-reality and missing the reality before them.
Though they did not realize it…they had already lost their children.
They traded facetime with them for screen-time.

The person who gives these kids a sliver of attention and affirmation will win them over.

When a monster gives children attention and affirmation that their parent’s withheld, that monster can mold those innocent little hearts into twice as much of a monster than he.
It is monsters such as these who will rule the world…
And there may not even be a remnant of opposition.

Our world is doomed to such a destiny—
Unless we fathers and mothers get our heads out of the rectum of our damn mobile devices and enter into the reality of our children.

Parents who sacrifice screen time for playtime and family time will have children who far surpass others in security, confidence, emotional and psychological stability, physical and mental health, virtue and charity.

And even if the monsters rule the world…wisdom will be justified by her children.