Distracted Parenting Unlawful

Our world is quickly discovering the risks of cell phone use when driving, but recently I had a moment where I wished there was a law for distracted parenting. While at an orthodontist appointment for my daughter I watched as a boy came out to see his mom in the waiting room. Having just walked in I couldn't help but see him smiling from ear to ear as he said, "Mom! Guess who got their braces off?" I am sure the announcement came with no surprise as that was likely the plan of the appointment, but the response from the mom is what caught me off guard. She was sitting on a couch facing away from where her son was walking towards her. She replied saying, "Oh. Let's see." Her son quickly realized that she hadn't looked yet and walked around to the other side of the couch so that he could be in front of her and said, "See mom? They took them off." The mom, who was obviously involved in an urgent matter on her phone stuck to it without averting her eyes to her son even for a moment. She did manage to reply, "Oh. That's great." The son realized quickly his enthusiasm was not shared by his mom, but un-daunted took another try, "They left the retainer in but the braces are
gone!" With that, mom peeked up and quickly back to her device while muttering, "Oh good." I watched in shock and disappointment. Feeling sorry for the young man and slightly guilty for times in my life where I have played the same role of distracted parenting, I glanced at the screen as the mom prepared to shut down her world saving effort ... only to find some bubble popping or matching game. It's not worth a high score, one more email, or facebook post. Distracted parenting needs to be banned, it's killing our kids.