Sign In Texas Daycare Goes Viral, Tells Parents To Stop Cell Phone Addiction
A sign in a Texas daycare has gone viral on social media after one mother shared the scathing message on Facebook. The sign that was posted by staff at a Hockley, Texas, daycare late last week sternly tells parents to “get off your phone.”
One mother, Juliana Farris Mazurkewicz, took notice of the sign and shared it on her personal Facebook page. In just one week, the Texas daycare sign has had millions of shares and thousands of comments from social media users who have mixed opinions about phone shaming and alleged cell phone addiction.
The Texas daycare center alleges that parents spend too much time on their cell phones and don’t give their children enough attention. Not naming the daycare specifically, Juliana Farris Mazurkewicz — mother of four young children — snapped a photo of the sign last Friday and uploaded it Facebook, where the post has since been met with mixed reactions, according to KCCI. Mazurkewicz didn’t say why she felt the need to share the Texas daycare sign on social media, but she did add that she didn’t feel any negativity towards the daycare for scolding parents’ cell phone usage.
This message to parents from a daycare in Texas is getting worldwide attention – What do you think of the sign?https://t.co/d218A6EMCD
— WHSVnews (@WHSVnews) February 2, 2017
Taped to a front window, the sign is a page long with bold black lettering, some all-caps, underlining, and a lot of exclamation marks. The sign starts off by sternly telling parents to “get off your phone” when picking up your child. The sign then goes on to ask parents if they are happy to see their child, adding that “your child is happy to see you.”
“The parent is paying more attention to their phone than their own child. It is appalling. Get off your phone!!”
Mazurkewicz says the Texas daycare only has the “best interests of the children in mind,” even though the staff is offending some parents. The Texas mom did say that she was “shocked,” which may explain why she felt the need to share the sign on social media.
After taking a photo of the sign with her cell phone last Friday, Mazurkewicz uploaded the message to her personal Facebook page, along with, “Posted at the daycare today!” Surprisingly, Mazurkewicz only has just over 200 Facebook friends, but in less than seven days, the post of the daycare sign went viral, with over 1 million shares and over 10,000 comments.
Cell phone addiction is a hot topic and an actual “thing,” according to an article published on Addiction Tips, complete with signs and symptoms, including a “preoccupation with smartphone use.” The Texas daycare obviously noticed that some parents were too preoccupied with their cell phones to even acknowledge their own child during pickup, calling the behavior “appalling.” Mazurkewicz told CNN that she was curious to know what kind of reactions the sign would get from other parents — reactions that appear to be “decidedly mixed,” with some angry and some understanding.
#OneDayWithoutACellPhone is trending. I have not had a cell phone for years now. I wrote this about why. https://t.co/oRQjdkyxnG
— Jenna Woginrich ???? (@coldantlerfarm) February 3, 2017
Some social media users say that the Texas daycare sign message should be a wake-up call for everyone, not just parents, adding that the young and old alike spend “way too much time” online these days and “glued to their phones.” Other moms say the Texas daycare is being too judgmental and shouldn’t tell parents to “get off your phone” without knowing why the parent was using the phone to begin with. One Facebook user says that there are many reasons a parent might be on the phone, possibly for “things that are important.”
“I agree but also disagree. I don’t know what the phone call is about.”
Overall, comments on Facebook seem to agree with the message, just not the way the Texas daycare communicated the message to parents, adding that they “respect” the message, but the sign was “rude.” One comment even scolded the poster for using her cell phone to take the photo, calling it “ironic” that Mazurkewicz used her cell phone to take a photo of a sign telling parents to “get off your phone,” and Mazurkewicz agreed, adding that she usually leaves her phone in the car.
“I was outside of the daycare, and hadn’t opened the door yet, as you can see from the photo. I put my phone away before picking my child up. I heeded the message! It was ironic, though.”
What do you think? Do you think the Texas daycare should be phone-shaming parents with what’s being called a “condescending” sign, or is the daycare just as rude with the sign as the parents are with their cell phones? Join the debate, and leave your thoughts in the comments.
[Featured Image by Sean Gallup/Getty Images]
