Busy? Scattered? Always on the Go?  I'm noticing lately that even though I'm with my kids all day, I'm not always with them.  I'm preoccupied, half-listening, doing a hundred things at once.  When my kids catch on that my attention has been diverted, all kinds of craziness is unleashed on our household.  Big messes pile up and simple exchanges become occasions for World War III.  My voice raises a couple of notches and out come the threats of the end of the world as we know it.   This isn't how I want to be with my kids, and God knows this isn't the way my kids want to be with me.  So for seven consecutive days, I'm taking the Total Attention Challenge.  Here's how it works:

• Pick three times a day you intend to give your kids your total, undivided attention.  No one's going for sainthood here, so let's just pick three 10-20 minute increments where you are going to be all there, one hundred percent.  That's just 30-60 minutes a day.
  
• During your designated times, let your child take the lead.  Read the stories they pick, play the games they initiate, talk about the subjects that interest them the most.   Resist the urge to redirect the activity or take charge.  The point is to connect with your child in whatever way is most meaningful to them.
• Leave a comment on this article, saying you're in with a short list of your Total Attention Time Zones--the times you will set aside to connect with your child (or children!) everyday.
  
• Blog on your Minti Blog about your experience with the Total Attention Challenge.  Be brutally honest about how easy (or hard!) it is to give your kids your total attention three times a day. 
  

Starting time is breakfast--Friday, October 6th, 2006--whenever the sun rises in your part of the world.  I'm a newbie to Minti, so who knows if this is a permissable way to use the advice article or if anyone will join me, but let's give it a try!  I need to make a concerted effort to pay attention to my kids, and I'd love to do it with my Minti-sistahs.  Pass this article around and let's see how many people we can get onboard.