We all need attention, and, in a family, it’s not always easy to get it. It doesn’t matter what size the family is; an only child can compete intensely with one parent to get the other parent’s attention. A wife can compete with her husband’s activities to get his attention. A husband can compete with his mother-in-law or with the community at large to get his wife’s attention.
The struggle for attention can take a myriad of forms. The common denominator is the feeling that we are being shortchanged.
“Look at me, Ma! Look what I’m doing!” When kids want a parent’s attention, they aren’t shy about it. They want to be “seen.” A wife may ask her husband for the same: “I’m trying to talk to you. Please look at me.”
But attention comes in other forms as well. For instance, people like to be heard. “I’m trying to tell you something — would you please listen?”
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