The Benefits of Boredom

Our grandchildren are probably more over-programmed than any generation of children before them. Technologically, they’re a savvy generation with devices embedded into their ears almost from birth and fingers adeptly glued to keypads and remote controls from an equally early age. It’s a rare household where children engage in conversation at the dinner table, but instead bring their iPods and iPhones to the table where they continue to text and play games. Who can blame them? Most parents are doing the same. In fact, a recent news item suggested the dining room is an obsolete room in the house. Most people sadly eat in front of their computer screens.

In addition, parents feel pressure to make sure their children are proficient in as many skills as possible as soon as possible. Babies and toddlers are enrolled in scheduled activities to give them a head start in music, drama, sports and language. The scheduling continues as they grow,with activities booked for after school, after dinner and weekends. With television and electronic games for entertainment to fill the remaining gaps, there is little down time, except to sleep.

And when there is down time, a child, accustomed to being scheduled, often says “I’m bored.” My oldest grandson said those exact words less than a week after school closed last summer. I reminded him that he had “no schedule, no homework and the opportunity to do anything he wanted, even just sit and enjoy the freedom of making pictures out of the clouds.” He looked at me as if I’d suggested making his own rocket and flying to the moon.
Parents tend to panic when a child announces she is bored and they frantically come up with another schedule. They fix the boredom with more technology or an activity to fill the child’s head with more reactive ‘stuff.’ Throwing in some form of entertainment or external stimulation is easier than letting a child find a way of entertaining himself.

In fact, boredom is essential for creativity to flourish. We all have creativity. It just needs to be unlocked and nurtured. The brain is a muscle that needs to be exercised and often, the best kind of exercise is initiated by the child himself. Kids tend to dig deep and find their imaginations when they’re bored. It’s really a matter of waiting out the boredom and letting them discover their own creativity. Creative thinking can’t be jammed into a schedule.