Not now!

How often do we say that? Not now. To our wives and kids, not now. Something I have noticed recently. Most men, let most things, take most of their time that really belongs to their family. Really.  What rational person would make the most important people in their life take second place to a rerun of MASH? Most of us. It happens all the time. We allow every activity to take precedence over our true priorities. I do it and you do, too. Admit it and move on.
If I remember this correctly, Dr. James Dobson was the first one to point this out for me. He said we have to be willing to stop everything for a moment just because our family asks us to. So what if it's your 4 year old showing you the millionth crayon scribble, your teenager showing you her millionth goofy Facebook post or you wife with her millionth comment about some random thought she had today. If they really matter to you, give them the freedom to interrupt anything. If you brush them off enough, you won't ever have to do it again. Eventually, they won't give a crap about what you think. They won't care if you are impressed with them. They won't care if they ever see you again. Keep doing it and see if I am right.
Really, this is an easy one. You are going to have to train yourself on it. It will take conscious effort for a while. But, eventually, it will be your new nature. One interruption at a time. Just stop whatever you are doing, turn your entire body to them, make eye contact and give them your undivided attention.
This is new to me, too. I just learned this one a few weeks ago. But, it has made a huge difference already in how I relate to them and how they relate to me. These were quick results. Sme of these changes take months or years to see results. This one took days. Try it and see what happens.