Do your kids have enough time to be bored?

Adi is always busy with a tight schedule. He finishes his class and does not want to get bored for a minute. I often ask him to relax for some time but he wants to be busy all the time. He somehow finds a way to get on the gadget. I realized that being free for him meant being on the gadget.

I decided to help him realize the beauty of being free. I wanted him to experience what it felt like to have some free time without any screens or gadgets. At first, he was hesitant and didn’t want to do it. But I encouraged him to give it a try. So after his classes, we decided he will deliberately not have anything to do. No screens, no gadgets, nothing. Just spend some time being bored.

At first, it was hard for him. On the first day, he was cranky and didn’t know what to do. But I encouraged him to stick with it and see how it goes. By the second day, he started getting used to it and began to find ways to entertain himself. He started playing with his toys, reading books and even making up some games with his friends.

I was really happy to see that he was able to find ways to have fun without screens or gadgets. And I think this is a really important skill that he’s learned. Because in the real world, there will be times when there’s nothing to do and we have to find ways to entertain ourselves.

After a couple of days of this exercise he started painting, he had dropped painting a couple of months back.

Why Boredom is good?

Boredom has its benefits. It can help us to be more creative and productive. When we are bored, our mind wanders and we start daydreaming. This is when we come up with new ideas and solutions to problems.

Do you get ideas when you hit the bed, or in the shower? That’s because your mind is free to wander when you’re not focused on anything in particular. And this is a good thing!

Boredom can also help us to be more productive. When we are bored, we tend to look for ways to occupy our time. This means that we are more likely to get things done.

According to Sandi Mann, a senior psychology lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire in the U.K. Mann who is the author of The Upside of Downtime: Why Boredom Is Good, “Daydreaming can be “quite a respite” and provide a brief escape from day-to-day life, But it’s also beneficial to simply step away from screens, work and other stressors long enough to feel bored”

Getting bored is a skill that we need to learn. Imagine how kids hate to wait at the station, or in the hospital waiting room. A little bit of boredom can help them to be patient.

In today’s world, we are so used to being entertained all the time that we have forgotten how to deal with boredom. We reach for our phones or turn on the TV whenever we have a spare moment. But this is not a healthy way to deal with boredom.

Nowadays looking outside the window or feeling the wind on the face is considered a luxury. But kids should get to experience this joy of feeling nature.

The days we do not have internet, or the power is down we feel so lost. We have become so used to being connected to the internet all the time that we cannot even imagine life without it.

“I wonder whether our ancestors wouldn’t have worked out how to make bread or fire had they not been bored, and looking for something to do and something to be creative about. Would we be as creative without boredom? It’s there to stimulate us — to find new resources, to do new things. That’s the whole point of boredom, and that’s why boredom can be such a creative force. It’s why we need it”- Sandy Mann

Here are some tips on help kids get bored:

1. Schedule some “boredom time” into your day: Let your kids know that there will be times during the day when they will have nothing to do. This will help them to be prepared for it.

2. Encourage them to find ways to entertain themselves: Show them how to find things to do without screens or gadgets. This could include playing with toys, reading books, or making up games with friends.

3. Don’t give in: If your kids complain about being bored, don’t give in and give them something to do. This will only teach them that they can’t entertain themselves and that they need to be entertained by others.

4. Be a good role model: If you want your kids to learn how to deal with boredom, you need to be a good role model. Let them see you taking some time out to do nothing now and then.

5. Get bored together: One of the best ways to teach your kids how to deal with boredom is to get bored together. This can be a fun bonding experience for both of you. And it will show your kids that it’s okay to sometimes have nothing to do. Here are some ideas on how to get bored together:1.

6. Pick a place to go and do nothing: This could be a park, the beach, or anywhere else where you can just relax and not do anything.

7. Play some games: Games such as I Spy or 20 Questions can be fun ways to kill time when you’re bored.

8. Have a conversation: Use this time to talk to your kids about things that they’re interested in. We have amazing conversations on our walks, there is so much to talk about.

“It’s a misconception that it’s having nothing to do. Instead, it’s an emotion that occurs when we are searching for, and not finding, the optimal level of neural stimulation that we need. We’re looking for something more stimulating, but we can’t find it” — Sandy Mann

So the next time your child complains of being bored, don’t rush to entertain them. Encourage them to stick with it and see what they come up with. Who knows, they might just surprise you with their creativity

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