Why Children Need To Be Bored Sometimes

Many parents feel that they need to entertain their children at all times, at all costs. They don’t want them to be bored and want them to be stimulated as much as possible. However, it could be that letting children be bored from time to time is good for them now, and in the future. It may not sound much fun (being bored rarely is), but that’s the point. Fun doesn’t need to be a constant state. Here are some of the reasons why letting your children be bored is not a bad thing at all.

Boredom Begets Creativity

As a parent, you are going to be busy. Whether you go out to work or you stay at home, the same thing is true; you have got a lot to do. It means that if you are also trying to entertain your children, you are going to have problems because it’s just not possible. Knowing this and dealing with it are two different things, however, and guilt soon kicks in.

Don’t feel guilty if you leave your children to their own devices even when they tell you they are bored. If you don’t help them out or give them any clues, they will, because they need to, work out something they can do. It could be, amongst other things:

·         Doodling

·         Reading

·         Playing a board game

·         Playing a made-up game

·         Making a plan for a day out

·         Creating a menu for the week

Adults Get Bored Too

Boredom is not the sole domain of children; adults get bored too. Children need to learn about boredom early on because otherwise when they become bored as adults, they won’t know how to deal with it. Having fun and enjoying life is great, but it is not sustainable for parents or for adults growing out of childhood.

Learning how to get over boredom and what to do to fight it is a life skill that is essential for happiness and productivity, and if you never allow your children to get bored, they won’t have this skill in later life.

Special Events Are Much More Fun

If you take your children out all the time, showing them this place or that thing, then whatever you book for them or take them to is, at some point, no longer going to be an exciting event to look forward to. It is, rather, just going to be yet another day out. Ironically, children will get bored of doing the things you are planning to stop them being bored!

If going out to wonderful events is something that happens more rarely, then when you book Disney On Ice Frozen tickets, for example, they will enjoy the experience much more and remember it for much longer.

Boredom Is Calming

As an adult, you know what it is like to be on the go all the time: it’s exhausting, and you never get a chance to relax. For children, being constantly stimulated and not having any ‘downtime’ can be just as exhausting. Allowing them to be bored once in a while will lead to de-stressing and more mindfulness as they sit and think more about being calm and peaceful. This is good for their physical and mental health, so it is always a good thing to do. 

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