I’m bored….How many of us have heard this statement? I am sure as we move into the next several weeks of isolation we will hear “I AM BORED” on a daily basis. But you know what?
ITS OKAY TO BE BORED!
The other day while we were setting up for a Family Connect, one of the children there came up to me and said, “I’m bored.” “Really”, I said, “Your mom brought you legos, coloring books, cars, lots of things to keep you busy.” I suggested he try playing with some of the things provided. He left for exactly 2 minutes and came back saying “I am bored.” I looked him in the eyes and said “You know what…Its okay to be bored.” He looked at me not knowing how to respond to my answer and walked away. And you know what? He found something to do.
As parents we are continually trying to be one step ahead of our children to keep them from being bored. By eliminating boredom we are eliminating their creativity and problem solving skills.
I remember a time when parents would tell kids to go outside and you can’t come back in until dinner. I remember sitting on the porch mad because I couldn’t be inside, but sure enough, we figured out something to do. We ether built a fort, made up a game, and one time we even caught frogs and made a frog circus.
Being bored didn’t hurt us, it caused us to be creative.
Some of the best inventions in the world have come from someone being bored. Kids are so smart and creative but because we are always trying to prevent boredom we are stopping the creativity and imagination process.
When my oldest son was in 3rd grade he was part of an Odyssey of the Mind team. Their team was given the task of using flimsy balsa wood to build a structure that could hold over 100 pounds AND provide a skit to go along with structure while the weights were being put on. THE CATCH…no adults or parents were allowed to help in any way. We were allowed to ask questions but we were not allowed to give any solutions to the problem. We couldn’t paint, use glue guns, help with structure, hair, costumes. It was all up to the children to figure out what needed to be done then complete the task.
And you know what? They did it. It wasn’t what we as parents would have put together, but they did it and made it to the world competition where they competed with schools from all over the globe.
Our children need to learn how to play and be creative independently.
Here are a few ways to help jumpstart our children out of the “I am bored” way of living. Let’s be honest, there is no parent in America that will be able to keep their children from being bored over the next several months.
So let’s equip our children to handle times of being bored.
Send them to their rooms
During this time of quarantine it is good to give everyone space away from each other. Spending time in their rooms serves both the alone time and the creativity. Our children had to have quiet time in their rooms instead of naps as they got older. Mainly because I still loved to nap. But also this gave them time by themselves to just be. They didn’t have to nap but they did have to be quiet. They could read, play with what was in their room, and sometimes they even cleaned their rooms.
During the weeks to come make sure each person in your family has space to just be. Maybe create a space in your home where anyone can go if they just need to be by themselves.
Send them outside, weather permitting
Playing outside opens the door to great creativity and it’s good to get fresh air. Send them outside and they will find something to do. Make sure you do a sweep of the yard to see if there is anything that could hurt your child. Then give them free rein to play and be creative.
Legos are the best toys for independent play
You can give direction by telling them what to make, or just let them go for it. You can find online different plans to build cool things with Legos.
Blank drawing paper
We had a table with coloring books, blank paper, crayons, markers, glue and scissors.
Give them a box of miscellaneous craft supplies
Have them make a project, then present the project to mom and dad at dinner time.
Let them figure it out
Have a portion of the day you call “free play”. During this time they need to come up with what to do, and not look to you. You don’t have to leave them for hours to do free play, but maybe start with 15 minutes and work your way up from there.
These are just a few ideas to get your juices flowing. Have fun with it.
God Bless!