For all of you parents riding the subway to work racked with guilt because your kids are at home with the sitter or at Grandma’s bored to tears, I have good news. Boredom is actually good for kids. Particularly over-scheduled, over-stimulated, over-entertained privileged kids. The problem is, having our kids bored makes us feel like terrible parents. Here’s why it shouldn’t.
For all of you parents riding the subway to work racked with guilt because your kids are at home with the sitter or at Grandma’s bored to tears, I have good news. Boredom is actually good for kids. Particularly over-scheduled, over-stimulated, over-entertained privileged kids. The problem is, having our kids bored makes us feel like terrible parents. Here’s why it shouldn’t.
Boredom challenges a child’s imagination.
When kids are constantly stimulated with planned activities, movies, play-dates, sleepovers, video games or movies, their minds have little work to do. Rather than thinking about how to fill time and space, kids simply have to move from one spot to another and have fun. The truth is, not having to engage the mind actually gets boring for kids. We need to remind ourselves when our kids moan about having to figure out what to do that this is not only good for kids, it is crucial to healthy psychological development. Without it, their imaginations won’t expand and they will grow into adults who are used to being entertained, not challenged. Who wants to be with an adult like that?
Boredom sharpens their sensibilities
Just like eating too much ice cream dulls our ability to enjoy dessert, constant exposure to entertainment dulls our child’s appreciation for stimulation. When we take them from one activity to another without any “boring” time in between, we blunt their sensitivity to joy of the activity. Kids who are faced with an afternoon without any friends, activities or electronics to entertain them are forced to create fun from nothing. After they have succeeded (and yes, they will if you don’t cave in and plan something for them) then when they go to camp or to a friend’s house for a sleep-over, the fun is amplified.
Boredom Brings a sense of peace
A person who can enjoy his own company lives with a sense of calm. He is not afraid of hearing himself think, doesn’t feel the need to fill quiet with the noise of a television or his Ipod. He can be still alone because he doesn’t fear being alone. The same is true for children.