Parents are driven to keep their kids engaged, enthralled and vibrant. Maybe a little boredom would not be a bad thing.
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I’ve never been a big TV kind of guy. A lot of people say that, and maybe it’s true. For me, though, even as a kid Saturday morning cartoons consisted of maybe one or two shows before I was off to do something else. Admittedly, this was a time before the internet, before video games were as huge as they are now. Always I had this feeling that there was something I could be doing.
The Absence of Boredom
Kids today are being deprived of boredom. Social media, games, and the internet all provide some form of entertainment, either in 40 second clips or hours long video. If you say you were “sucked into the internet” everyone knows what you mean. With that instant gratification at our fingertips, the opportunities granted from boredom rarely arise.
On top of that, parents have adapted to a life of easily obtainable entertainment. Many appreciate the fact that their children don’t have to suffer through boredom like we did as we were young, without realizing what we learned as children when we were bored.
Why Boredom is a Good Thing
As I said, as a child I always felt there was something I could be doing. That didn’t mean I always knew what that thing was. Often I’d mope through the house, wanting to do something, but no idea what. I’d wander into the backyard, poke around in the dirt idly, and try to think of how I could be having fun. Those were times I came up with my own worlds, my own games, and put in the time to discover the world around me.
This state of restlessness, of wanting to do something but having no idea what, is the perfect fuel for imagination and discovery. It’s through boredom that our children discover their creativity. Instead of life providing the answers on a whim, they create their own answers. This is a skill they will take with them to fight off a number of problems, including stress, depression, and communication.
Boredom helps our children discover who they are, what they like to do, and what they’re interested in. When every moment is filled with inane chatter, it leaves no space for boredom to set in and they pick up a book, or research what, exactly, the difference is between toads and frogs.
Help by Not Helping
Planning activities for your family is fine, but be sure to leave room for them to be on their own. The best thing a parent can do for their children in times like this is to simply let them be. When they come to you announcing their boredom, let them deal with it. Just as with everything else, if you jump to and don’t give them a chance to do for themselves, they’ll never learn to do for themselves.
Boredom in itself may seem unpleasant, but it is a veiled catalyst for some tremendous growth.
This story has been republished to Medium.
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