Sometimes, the thought of a summer stretched before you with your kids home can make you wonder how on earth you’ll keep your kids busy. You’ve probably heard the phrase, “I’m booooored…What can I do?” more than once. When I was growing up (no, I didn’t walk ten miles in the snow to go to school–it was San Diego!), if we were bored, our parents said to us “Bored people are boring” and “Good. I have some chores you can do.” We learned to be un-bored very quickly. Funny how that worked! When confronted with cleaning or yard work, we suddenly found more compelling things to do.
What probably made it easier for my parents is that there weren’t so many cool electronics vying for our attention back then. We couldn’t say, “Can’t I just play the Wii?” or just hang out for hours texting friends. Sure, there was television, and we watched plenty of it. But we also spent a lot of time outdoors, bulding forts, playing simple games like hopscotch and hide and go seek. Sometimes, our parents said, “Go outside and stay there until it’s dinner time. You need some fresh air.” And we did. Of course, when your child is bored, he or she may also try to engage you in power struggles to keep things interesting. Don’t take the bait! It takes time for kids to learn to sit with their boredom and tap into self-directed activities.
So my proposition to you is to get a little old fashioned with your kids and help them take responsibility for creating their own great summer. Sure, it’s fun to have family adventures and activities planned, but those don’t happen everyday. Managing boredom teaches your child to dig deeply within, to think their own thoughts, to be resourceful. You’d be surprised (and pleasantly, I might add) what your children do when you answer the “I’m bored” refrain with, “Mmmmmmmm…interesting…What are you going to do about that?”
Still wondering on how you can jumpstart your kids’ creativity and imagination once their bored? I found a site with ten really cool ideas on handling boredom written expressly for kids. Here are the first three tips:
10 Your parents’ calendars fill up fast . Clue them into what you most want to do this summer. Trips, museums, zoos, and other outings may need planning and can be expensive. You stand a better chance if you tip them off ahead of time.
9 Boring or exciting? Make a prediction about your summer and be prepared with the proof. Start a scrapbook or a journal and record every nitty-gritty detail as evidence.
8 Start a Know-It-All Club with your friends. Become experts on bugs, gardening, rocks, Indians, cooking, or whatever! Check out books and videos from the library. Make T-shirts and a secret handshake. Plan a Know-It-All party and teach your parents a thing or two!
To see the rest of the tips, go to http://www.buddyproject.org/jfy/kids/articles/summer.asp. Take the pressure off yourself to entertain your kids. They’ll actually be better for it, and so will you! Happy Summer!
