In a world full of endless birthday parties, play dates, car DVD players, and digital gadgets right at our fingertips, children are in a constant state of entertainment, jumping from one awesome activity to the next. This “cycle of fun” always creates the inner need for MORE: more movies, more sugary snacks, more trips (and tantrums) down the toy aisle, one more trip to the splash park, one more ice cream cone. While occasional trips create memories and foster relationships with other children, sometimes…
KIDS JUST NEED TO BE BORED.
There. I said it. There is a creative brilliance that comes with boredom, a primal urge to fill that white space with something inventive and this boredom promotes ownership of unplanned blocks of time. In other words, FREE PLAY ROCKS.
Allow me to explain.
A huge red flag that my children need what my husband and I call ” home play therapy” is when they ask the following questions:
“What are we doing tomorrow?”
“What are we doing next?”
“Where are we GOING next?”
When there is an urgency for the “next fun thing,” it is a call that we need a few at home days. Days where there are zero events on the calendar. Days where they just PLAY. Explore. Create. Pretend. The days in which our children are at their personal best are the days in which they can simply be kids. Where playing with a basic sheet of paper and pack of crayons turns into digging through the recycle bin for empty cardboard boxes and the next thing you know? They’ve created a bed for our cat. We have had to create a “no sticks in the house” rule because sticks serve as swords, fairy wands, and fishing poles when that time is free for them to invent such creations.
Five gallon bucket lids become bases for kickball, digging in the dirt is actually a quicksand pit, and the mailman is really a fire breathing dragon. And sandwiches somehow taste better when you are swinging. Kim John Payne, in his book, Simplicity Parenting, states that “nature is the perfect antidote to the sometimes poisonous pressures of modern life.”
Simply stated? Being bored can be the best thing EVER for your children. Allow them to play freely and watch the magic that unfolds.
(PS: And if you want to see how our family creates a balance between busy days and simple ones, read more here ).
I love this. It is so true. I always need this reminder because most days my kids are constantly asking “what’s next?” lol. I know I need to let them be bored and not continuously entertain them.
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