Boredom Strengthens Children’s Imaginations
Everyone needs to be bored. You too. Boredom, unlike what many people think, is not a bad thing at all.
The boredom helps us get in touch with ourselves, to know ourselves better and to enhance our creativity and imagination, for the benefit of our leisure. Sometimes, however, when you hear the phrase: “Mom, Dad, I’m bored…”, it is possible that you feel in trouble. Actually, you don’t have to feel bad, because it’s definitely not a bad thing.
There are people who come to think that they are bad parents because they feel responsible for their children’s boredom and try to give this “problem” an immediate solution. We respond to children’s boredom by providing them with technological entertainment or structured activities. The reality, however, is that such an attitude can be counterproductive. Children need to find themselves and relate to life, but they need unstructured time to do so.
The importance of unstructured play
The time devoted to unstructured play is very important for the healthy development of children, because it offers them the opportunity to explore their worlds, both the inner and the outer. It is the beginning of creativity. It is how they learn to interact with each other and with the world, to imagine, to invent and, above all, to create.
Unstructured time also presents a challenge for children who are able to explore their passions. If we keep them busy with structured lessons and activities, they will try to fill their time by having fun with electronic devices. In this way, they will never learn to respond to what their heart is pointing out to them at all times. They will be deaf to the desire to build something in the backyard, to make a film with friends or to study the errors present on the sidewalk, as Albert Einstein did.
These calls of our heart to imagination and creativity are what will lead children to feel their passions, to make their life make sense… For this reason it is so important to be bored in childhood. Because it’s time to awaken all these passions. Only when children give free rein to their need to explore the world and pursue their interests are they truly learning and empowering their creativity and imagination.
What to do about your child’s boredom
If your child tells you that he is bored, you will need to abandon what you are doing and focus on your child for at least 5 minutes. Take this time to make contact with him, chat, pamper him and give him your full attention. In this way, your child can be charged with positive energy to be able to quickly get back on his way.
If he’s not playing, maybe he just needs to spend a little more time with you. When babies cry because they are bored, they are actually unable to focus and need to stay in touch with you longer.
Offer your help to involve him in what he is doing, or take a break from the activity that is occupying you and do something with your child. Let him feel that you are standing next to him. Not only to teach him something, but also simply to be with him and spend quality time together.
Once you are certain that your child can continue playing on their own, you can propose some ideas to put into practice. Or you can offer him suggestions to choose from so he can play on his own. It is vital that children have the opportunity to decide for themselves how to use unstructured time, so that they learn to manage it. One of the biggest challenges an adult can face is learning to manage their time well. And the secret lies in learning to be bored successfully in childhood.
