For my own kids when they are bored there is a flow of requests. First they ask if they can watch TV. Then they ask if they play video games. Then they ask if they can goto a friends house that they like. Then they ask if they can see a neighbor kid who they are kinda meh about. If I keep saying no to all the distractions they typically will enter a complainy phase about how they are bored, but after a bit of boredom they enter a very imaginative state where we can end up with some top tier kid games, the kind you might see on Bluey.
Children should be allowed to get bored (2013)
11–20 of 201 posts
Re: Children should be allowed to get bored (2013)
#12protip: not just kids
Re: Children should be allowed to get bored (2013)
#13> All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone. —BP
Re: Children should be allowed to get bored (2013)
#14All these "should be allowed" are basically "children are people, too. Let them have everything normal people do/have/experience/feel". This applies to all "children should be allowed to play/go outside/be bored/be not bored/...." expert takes
This is not about not allowing kids to be bored. This is about them wanting parents to create situations when kids are bored (by preventing their access to electronics specifically). As in, boredom nowdays requires additional work on the side of parents.
Re: Children should be allowed to get bored (2013)
#15“should be allowed”, in practice, means “should be forced”, since it means saying no to the huge collection of devices (TVs, computers, tablets, nintendos etc) that prevent boredom.
You could argue by providing those things you’re forcing them into perpetual stimulation. It’s a matter of perspective. The difference is that like sugar, unless we’re using our rationality to override the impulse, we’ll always pick stimulation though that’s not necessarily healthy.
Words means things. If I ask you for something again and again, you then provides it for me as a gift for christmas, using the word "forcing" is massively inappropriate.
It is not just a question of perspective. It is quite literally a question of what word means.
Re: Children should be allowed to get bored (2013)
#16For my own kids when they are bored there is a flow of requests. First they ask if they can watch TV. Then they ask if they play video games. Then they ask if they can goto a friends house that they like. Then they ask if they can see a neighbor kid who they are kinda meh about. If I keep saying no to all the distractions they typically will enter a complainy phase about how they are bored, but after a bit of boredom…
Dogs that beg for food are dogs that know they get fed when they beg for food.
Re: Children should be allowed to get bored (2013)
#17For my own kids when they are bored there is a flow of requests. First they ask if they can watch TV. Then they ask if they play video games. Then they ask if they can goto a friends house that they like. Then they ask if they can see a neighbor kid who they are kinda meh about. If I keep saying no to all the distractions they typically will enter a complainy phase about how they are bored, but after a bit of boredom…
I noticed a similar pattern with mine.
I limit their time with electronic devices (yt kids, games, etc) because it seems that the devices/services are similar to drugs including withdrawal symptoms.
So getting bored just means having to find something to play with. Lego is a good creative way to spend time. Going outside is also preferable to Minecraft ..
Re: Children should be allowed to get bored (2013)
#18For my own kids when they are bored there is a flow of requests. First they ask if they can watch TV. Then they ask if they play video games. Then they ask if they can goto a friends house that they like. Then they ask if they can see a neighbor kid who they are kinda meh about. If I keep saying no to all the distractions they typically will enter a complainy phase about how they are bored, but after a bit of boredom…
Sounds very similar to mine, perhaps the process they need to go through to achieve the 'state of boredom' where true creativity can be unlocked.
Re: Children should be allowed to get bored (2013)
#19> All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone. —BP
Blaise Pascal
Re: Children should be allowed to get bored (2013)
#20Being bored is good, I'd tell my kids. It means you're not hungry, or cold, or wet, or hurt, or scared for your life. Enjoy it!