“We need to draw an important distinction between a constructively bored mind and a negatively numbed mind. Constructively bored kids eventually turn to a book, or build a fort, or pull out the paints and create, or come home sweaty from a game of neighborhood basketball. There are a few things that parents and other caregivers can do to nurture constructive boredom.”
*First: A bored child often needs to spend time with a parent or other positive adult. They need to be there for their kids, to limit the time they play video games or watch TV, to take them to the library or on long walks in nature, to take them fishing–to help them detach from electronics long enough for their imaginations to kick in.
They need to be there for their kids, to limit the time they play video games or watch TV, to take them to the library or on long walks in nature, to take them fishing–to help them detach from electronics long enough for their imaginations to kick in.
*Second: Turn off the TV. Any parent who has punished a child by taking away TV privileges and then watched that child play–slowly at first, then imaginatively, freely–will recognize the connection between time, boredom and creativity. “There’s something about television-maybe that it provides so much in the way of audio and visual stimulation that children don’t have to generate very much on their own.”
*Third: Find a balance between adult direction and child boredom. Too much boredom can lead to trouble; too much supervision can kill constructive boredom–and the creativity that comes with it.”
–From Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
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