Moms: Resist the Urge to Multi-Task!

Posted March 05, 2009

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What are the dangers of doing too much? (Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

Posted Thursday, March 5, 2009 by Jackie Morgan MacDougall

What's the biggest difference between a mom and a dad? Multi-tasking, of course! We moms are famous for our ability to get six things accomplished simultaneously, all while creating world peace (or at least a temporary truce among fighting siblings). It's like the super powers go hand in hand with stretch marks.

But one Ohio mama is now infamous for juggling too much. Earlier this week, 39-year-old Genine Compton was cited for child endangerment after being spotted driving under the influence of breastfeeding. Yes, you read that right. She was behind the wheel, feeding her kid, and -- to round out the multi-task trifecta -- yapping on her cell phone.

When police questioned her, she told them she would not let her child go hungry. While I applaud the ability to nourish, travel, and communicate, try pulling over, woman.

While Compton is certainly not the norm, in some ways, she isn't so different. With the stress of motherhood at an all-time high, Pediatrician Dr. Gwen O'Keefe says that moms' drive to get it all done could actually be hurting our kids more than we know.

"Parents are just plain stressed and overstretched, which distracts them from paying attention to all sorts of details in their lives, including their kids."

Like many moms, I've been known to leave a coffee cup on the roof of the car or search high and wide for my glasses only to discover they're sitting on my head. But Dr. Gwen says distraction can lead to more serious - and dangerous - consequences. While we all hear about those children tragically forgotten in cars, Dr. Gwen says even more common are the countless preventable accidents caused by distracted parents. Examples she's encountered include:

• Kids falling down stairs or pulling stuff on top of themselves (big things like TVs, books, etc), when parents haven't been looking.
• Kids being found in the street by a parent who was yammering on the cell phone.
• Kids being burned by stuff on the stove, hair curlers, cups of coffee, etc, because a parent was on the computer or cell phone and not looking.

But Dr. Gwen adds that the biggest hit to our kids may be in their social and overall development.

"We can't be attuned to them and stimulate them if we're not there in the moment with them. We also can't focus on what they need if we're distracted. They have one childhood - if we are not there for them, what will they really be like as they get older? It's like they are becoming latchkey kids with stay at home parents."

So even though it's tempting to try and get it all done in the most efficient way possible, give yourself a break, mom. Try to enjoy this fleeting time.

In fact, excuse me while I go spend time with my kids.

Jackie Morgan MacDougall, on the never-ending quest for balance, enjoys life in Los Angeles with her husband, Jeff, and their three small kids.

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