Bored Kids: How to Balance Boredom in a Way That Boosts Brains
Let me guess, one of the least favorite things your child can say to you is, “I’m bored!” Because when you have bored kids, if you’re like most people, you jump into your brain to see what exciting thing you can come up with for them to do. Or, you just hand them a screen because we’re in the 2020’s and times are different now. Kids entertain themselves with technology, right? Well, yes, that is right, but there is a strong reason to continue fighting for a different cure for your bored kids.
Boredom is an uncomfortable state for most kids, especially if they don’t often experience boredom because something or someone is always entertaining them. Boredom can induce stress, crying, whining, cajoling, begging, stomping, and yelling; you name it. That's because they seek stimulation and entertainment, and our society feeds them with it continuously.
The problem is that when they are seeking an out from being bored, they often are looking outside themselves to be “cured” of boredom. We don’t want to teach our kids that only outside elements can solve their problems. If boredom is the problem, then creativity is the solution. Some of the greatest creative minds know a secret: if they just wait out the feeling of boredom, their brains will flick on creativity, and they will be on their way to brain building.
Creativity for the “Mom, I’m Bored” Win
For school-age kids especially, after they have been sitting and learning, they need to play and be creative. Sometimes kids have a hard time with this transition, but it's necessary for mental health, wellness, and processing learning and emotions. If you have a child who shows signs of anxiety or stress, giving them time to do creative play is imperative.
You don’t want your kids going straight from sitting in front of a screen for hours for school or homework to playing games on a screen. Brains need a break, and they also need to be filled with other stimuli. Kids' brains work a bit differently than adults in how they assimilate information, and they are great absorbers. They need to get into creative play so that they can absorb the stimulus around them. When kids tell you they are bored, tell them, "Great, that means your brain is about to really get fired up!" (Because it really does get fired up!)
How do you do that? By making a list of boredom busters when they’re not bored. Sit down together and make a master list of things they can pick from when boredom creeps in. Consider typing, printing and laminating it so it sticks around. When they come whining to you about needing something to do, your cortisol level won’t rise because you will be set. Point to the list, tell them to pick something and go about your day.
Old School is Still Cool!
Be creative with this! Remember when your kids were tiny, and they only needed boxes or pots and pans to fill time happily. That’s still in there; you may just need to remind them. Maybe you remember what it was like growing up without a screen to fill the void. Dig back in your memories! Chances are good you’ll think of things they couldn’t even dream of (and have fun reminiscing, too!).
I remember filling endless hours in my garage lip-syncing to music on my boombox. My most prized possession was my sticker book filled with scratch-and-sniffs and there was nothing like an afternoon in the back yard with a sibling, a hose and some buckets. What do you remember? What comes out of your memory vault that is an experience your kids would probably not think of themselves?
Brain-Boosting Tip: To learn more about how creative play works in the brain, check out: Bored kids? 5 Tips to Bust Through Boredom with Creativity. For a simple system for beating boredom and helping your child strengthen their creative muscles, check out The Creative Brain
FYI: Snacking Doesn't Cure Boredom
About two weeks into summer, I realized that my kitchen was being ransacked by a band of rabid, hungry raccoons. It turns out, the only wild animals ransacking the kitchen were the ones I was raising. I mean, these kids took drive-by snacking to a whole new level.
If this doesn’t bother you one bit and you are totally cool with constant kitchen clean up, skip this one and go on. I know my limits, and a state of continuous snacking and disheveled kitchen shelves and pantry is neither good for my budget or my brain. If you have experienced hungry raccoons in your home, and it is sometimes the straw that breaks your sanity, let me give you some tips and tricks that we are using in this casa.
First of all, we took grazing off the menu. The kitchen now has open and close times. We also assigned each kid a meal to clean up after. They get on each other for leaving a mess, so I don't have to—double win.
We also have our kids pre-make their lunch for the next day at breakfast or dinner time. It cuts down on kitchen clean up and ransacking, and you are streamlining, making meals at once. They make lunches for school; they make lunches for summer. (If your kids aren't making their lunch, now is a great time to learn!) I also pre-make my lunch for the next day, so we can all just grab and go.
To help you keep to a budget, talk with your kids about snack options and schedule open kitchen times. Keep a small rotation of snack items that must be eaten before new snacks are purchased.
If planning dinners give you dread or you want your kids to help out more, meal planning and cooking together is a great way to connect, serve the family and grow responsibility. Check out this blog where I go more in-depth about making a meal plan work and how to streamline meals to make it simple: The Rooted Family Healthy Family Meal Plan
Bedtimes and Sleeping Keeps Brains Happy
Keep bedtimes consistent and straightforward. You may be tempted to be lax with bedtime or allow a gray area. Let me make the answer simple: don’t. Keep bedtime simple, consistent and predictable because brains like schedules. I would also add to be sure to throw in a dose of gratitude practice each night as well to boost neurotransmitters that fight stress and worry.
Getting enough sleep is essential to our mental health, immune system, and how we feel about our day and ourselves. I just can’t let this one slide by without paying it some well-deserved attention. If your child isn’t as tired as usual, change something up in the day to get them more active, but don’t take away shut-eye time.
Lack of sleep is directly linked to mental stability. If you have a kid who is already suffering from worry, anxiety, uncertainty, lack of sleep, it will only exacerbate those feelings. A good night's sleep also fights off the crabby and helps increase our focus - things that are on high demand in any childhood learning environment.