Present Parenting Bernie Rosquites: Technology is all around us. The world is so fast-paced and ever-changing. We rely on the internet, our phones, tablets, [and] social media for all the latest news and to keep up with our friends and family. But how do we stay present as parents? How do we spend quality time with our children, and not allow the screen to take over our lives? I'm Bernie Rosquites. Jewell Buenavista: And I'm Jewell Buenavista, and you're listening to the Faith and Family Podcast, a Christian family community that aims to promote Christian values for every phase of your family life. Bernie: Well, these past two years, the pandemic has been, let's just say just a little bit rough. We've been isolated in the house. We've been working from home, trying to homeschool our children all the while trying not to catch COVID. We've all become so accustomed to relying on our screens, but how do we pivot from our devices to spend quality time with our kids? Jewell:  Oh, Bernie, that's such a good question. A lot of us get so busy with meetings or tasks, that it's so easy just to stick our kids on our iPads or any electronic device. Bernie: Absolutely. Right. So, let's have a discussion. We brought on some fellow moms to talk about their ideas of I'm doing air quotes with my fingers—present parenting. Jewell: Oh, I love this topic. So,  let's welcome Felicia Nofuente. She's a school counselor and mother of three boys. We also have Tracy Nguyen she works from home with two toddlers and finds fun ways to keep them occupied. Welcome, ladies. Bernie: Hello, ladies. Felicia: Hi, Thanks for having us. Bernie: So, you know,  it's obvious. We're all busy moms, right? And I gotta admit, I'm guilty of sometimes sticking my son—not so much in front of the TV, he's 9-about-to-be-10—so for him, it's not so much the TV, it's the Nintendo Switch and the iPad because he's into Roblox right now. You know, when I got something to do, and sometimes it's not even something to do when I just need that—let me give an hour of peace and quiet just to collect my thoughts. I know I'm not the only one right? Please tell me I’m not the only one. Jewell: So I'm guilty. I'm guilty of everything you just said, Bernie.  So how about you ladies, what's going on in your lives when it comes to dealing with electronics, especially right now? Tracy: Well, for me, I work from home. So there will be times that you know, PBS or Disney is going to be babysitting my children. But you know, everything comes good in moderation, right? I like to try and justify that, you know, it helps my children develop in grammar and language and speaking and singing a whole lot of singing. But um, yes, it just having it in under, you know, a time limit is what we're aiming for. Learning curves, every day, learning curves. But yes, we're working on this, for sure. Felicia: I have three kids at different ages, so they all like different things. So my oldest is 12. And then I have a seven-year-old and then a three-year-old. So each is into their own thing. For us, I kind of tried to let go of that guilt because that pandemic time was rough. And I'm an educator, I know what I'm doing, and I still struggled. So even if you are equipped or not equipped, it was still a struggle. So if Nintendo Switch was it or PS4 or whatever it is,