As a parent, I had to learn not to pay much attention. Some, yes, but my son did better, focused more, and was less emotional if he knew I wasn't watching. Like

As a parent, I had to learn not to pay much attention. Some, yes, but my son did better, focused more, and was less emotional if he knew I wasn't watching. Like with all things, it's a balance. You want to enjoy what you can, because they grow fast. You want them to become independent, so you need to not pay attention all the time. You want them to know that you love them, so you want to pay some attention. You don't want them to believe they are the center of the world, so you honestly need to ignore them, too. If you don't give yourself some downtime, you become a worse parent over the medium term. The worst part is that the specific weights for the various options are always changing as they develop. Parenting is tough, and the only key indicator I've found is that if something is difficult to do, it is more likely to be the better course of action ;)