Are your kids bored? I have discovered that when my kids appear BUSY doing a bunch of random stuff and acting out… they are really just BORED!
This may be obvious to some parents, but it wasn’t to me. My kids rarely say the words, “I’m bored!” like I did as a child. Instead, they will just act out and mill about the house aimlessly doing random stuff. What looks like them being crazy kids and breaking stuff just for fun and eating a bunch… is really just boredom.
Ok, clearly we need a bit more structure some days! Now that I have noticed the signs of boredom, I have put together a list. This way when one child acts or says they are bored, I don’t have to jump into my brain and pull out some magic! I have a running list that I can refer to and will hopefully help spark some productivity in my two “angels”!
Download the pdf to print or the word doc to edit yourself. I figure the cute graphics may prompt their imagination also.
Now, I also get that more often than not, my kids may just need some attention… from ME! We get so busy with the day to day that it is so easy to forget that they need just us and our quality time for them. I have started just offering hugs at random times to help remind me (and break their concentration sometimes). I think it helps and sometimes just makes us all laugh!
“Some children say they are bored because they want you to pay attention to them; give them some undivided attention time and help them feel secure and safe.” (from Why do kids get bored easily?)
The other thing to keep in mind is that maybe it doesn’t have to be up to us. Even with a list of goodies (download your free printable above), they still may just WANT to be bored… or none of our ideas sound good to them.
“Some really good stuff happens when we’re bored, because then we start daydreaming… And when we start daydreaming, we start imagining the world we would like, or we come up with new and exciting ideas… Essentially, we become creative when we’re bored.” (from How to deal with a kid who’s always bored)
So in the end, if the list still doesn’t work… maybe it’s OK for them to be bored! And I am going to accept it for what it is in the moment… try to help… but then not always have to FIX it for them!
I’d love to hear from you! How do you BUST boredom with your kids? What activities do you encourage? Comment below!