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Forum -> Parenting our children -> School age children
“Boredom never hurt anyone”



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bigsis144




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Mar 23 2020, 12:41 pm
I’ve read so many articles saying how boredom is necessary for true creativity; how our kids never get the chance to be bored anymore; how going minimalist and getting rid of toys will make your kids more creative; how kids who complain of boredom magically find an activity to entertain themselves with if assigned work/chores...

I think that’s made up, right? Do you have kids like this???

ETA: I had screen time all the time as a kid (I remember 90 minutes a day watching pbs kids shows after school in elementary school), I still enjoyed coloring, playing with dolls, writing my own books, making photo scrapbooks... in high school I taught myself html and video editing... my kids refuse to do anything)
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amother
Lilac


 

Post Mon, Mar 23 2020, 12:56 pm
Depends on what you mean. I grew up before the era of cheap Chinese imports so I didn’t have as many toys as kids have today. I am nit saying I was deprived at all but just that we didn’t necessarily play with toys as much.

I made up stories with stuffed animals and china tchotchkes. I made up stories with dolls I had. My friends and I would create forts and castles with boxes and crates and play elaborate games. . We would play card games and board games. I read a lot and made up stories. we did relatively simple crafts like creating those long tubes with the thing that had little spikes on a wooden spool. My Bubbe taught me to knit and embroider. We would pretend we were spies and detectives and roam around the neighborhood pretending we were looking for master criminals and spies.

We had television but there really wasn’t that much exciting because it was pretty cable.

But we also complained about boredom which our parents ignored.
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amother
Cobalt


 

Post Mon, Mar 23 2020, 1:41 pm
I do believe there is truth to it.
I read about the same magical minimalism. I am far from being a minimalist but we don't really do much screen time. We'll watch a youtube clipse here and there, some facetime, at one point one kid got I think 20 minutes once a WEEK but the vast majority of time is just playing and we don't really do it anymore.

we don't give out tablets on car rides, they can listen to music, an audio book, read a book, do stickers, stare out the window, play eye spy... very old school and I do think that my kids are pretty good at entertaining themselves when they aren't fighting Wink I tend to like to buy crafts, games... but I try to declutter with them so that their playroom which they LOVE isn't too overwhelming.

I also get drained easily so I have a rule when we get home from a trip, I get "alone" time and they have to figure out how to entertain themselves Wink they might not like it and forget but they can do it.

I also keep my kids home in the summer so they have more practice then other kids might Wink.

I found that when a kid goes to school they often aren't as good at entertaining themselves. I don't homeschool but I'm told that children often need a de-schooling period before they can transition to being self-led.

I also think it might be child speciific. Children with ADHD might have a harder time entertaining themselves.

a neighbor reduced her kids screen time and the CHILD (9 years old) told me she thinks it was a good idea and she is able to entertain herself better now.
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BetsyTacy




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Mar 23 2020, 1:44 pm
We did not complain about boredom when my father was home. There was some book on I don't know Jewish history which is what we would be told to read if we were bored. No one wanted to do that, which is pretty funny now since we are all interested in history, so we reread the same Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy books for the thousandth time.

Despite growing up with just a few channels, we watched a lot of TV. We knew the prices for the prizes on the Price is Right. As you can imagine, that knowledge has really served us well in our lives. LOL
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amother
Taupe


 

Post Mon, Mar 23 2020, 2:32 pm
Kids can find their own activities, but those activities often involve destruction, dirt and the great outdoors, none of which anyone can afford right now.
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amother
Taupe


 

Post Mon, Mar 23 2020, 2:33 pm
If you make your kids rely on their creativity, you can't then suppress it by saying "No, you cannot go sledding down the stairs using your mattress coated in olive oil".
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amother
Olive


 

Post Mon, Mar 23 2020, 5:42 pm
When I was a kid, I played school for hours. I had all these teacher notebooks with names of imaginary students that I would check off and I would write on a chalkboard. I did it for hours.

I didn't grow up watching tv but I was a big reader and would read for hours.

my kids watch tv but based on personality can entertain themselves different degrees. one kid is calmer/easier child and can play for hours, another child needs more stimulation and is always bored etc.
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