A Somewhat Disturbing Tea Party

We had a tea party yesterday.  It was so nice.  We used the cute polka-dotted tea set Sadie bought for the kids, and (major treat), we ate REAL cookies--party favors from a friend's recent Frozen themed birthday party.



The kids were ecstatic.  It had been a while since we had a full-out tea party with real tea, etc. We put on hats, we got Oliver a seat at the table.



Everything was splendid.



And then Lucy's pretend phone began to ring.  Not for real, of course.  Just pretend.  But she answered it, and this was her half of the conversation:

"Oh, thank you!  I'd love to come over to your house, but I'm having a tea party now.  Maybe next time.  Okay, I love you, too.  Bye."

Huh, I thought.  How funny.

 
Then her pretend phone rang again.  and again.  and again.  And each time it rang, she answered it and had this half-conversation with whatever pretend person was on the other side of the phone.  And this, despite the fact that Elliot and I were attempting to engage her in conversation (about where they were born, what the weather has been like, etc.).  She spent probably half of our tea party "on the phone".



So then I was thinking... wait.  Is this her perception of how I am when we're doing fun things together??  I mean... I don't feel like I'm on my phone very much, except maybe in the car when they're watching shows anyways.



But this somewhat disturbing tea party has given me pause about answering my phone while we're playing.  I'm not sure what to do about that, though--because it's not like I want to teach her not to answer her phone (the hypothetical, some-day teenage phone she will have).  You need to answer your phone.  And if I waited until the kids were asleep to return phone calls, they would simply never be returned.

So what is the teaching point here??  Is it that she needs to prioritize her friends/family she's actually spending physical time with, as opposed to the imaginary person on the other end of her pretend phone call?  Or is it that I am spending too much time on my phone, or somehow conveying the message that I'd always rather talk on the phone when someone calls, than spend time with my kids?

Or is it a completely normal milestone -- story-telling... and re-enacting what you've seen (without attaching life-shaping conclusions about one's childhood).



I'm still pondering it.