English Language Learners Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for speakers of other languages learning English. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
I recently encountered the following paragraph:
I try hard to become incredibly selective about those
things I engage with, so I can be really present for the stuff
that I’m doing, and be really engaged with my kids in a meaningful way.
In this context, what do the phrases
things I engage with
and
to be engaged with one's kids in a meaningful way
mean?
See the definition for the intransitive verb here at 2.c:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/engage?show=0&t=1413549624
To engage with means to "give your attention to {something|someone}".
To be really engaged with means to give something or someone your undivided attention.
It just means that he is choosing not to focus or spend time on things that aren't that important to him. Since he's not focusing on those unimportant things, he can focus on his kids, converse with them, play with them, teach them things, etc.
For example, he could have chosen to just watch TV when he gets home from work. But instead, he chooses to keep the TV turned off and hang out with his kids.
