Skip to main content

The Importance of Boredom- It's Healthy To Let Your Kids Be Bored Sometimes

It seems like kids today are busier than ever. Most children spend 6 or more hours a day at school, and then there's dance and soccer and piano lessons. While school and recreational activities are definitely important, is it really beneficial to keep our kids so busy that they rarely have down time? I personally believe that being bored occasionally is healthy, and here's why:



Boosts Creativity 
Unstructured time gives children the opportunity to explore their own interests and forces them to think outside the box. 

 Studies have shown that the human mind is more creative when we're bored. When we have nothing to occupy us, our minds tend to wander and daydream. 

 I am constantly impressed with the creative things my kids come up with during unstructured time. My oldest loves to design and sew. One of her favorite downtime activities is designing and making clothes for her dolls. My kids also love building forts. Sometimes in the house with sheets and chairs and sometimes outside with whatever materials they can find in the yard.

Let your kids have access to materials for creating and building, give them a little free unstructured time, and see what amazing creations they come up with!

Encourages Independence 
Unstructured time encourages kids to be independent and self motivated. In a world where so much of our children's days are planned out and led by adults, it's important for kids to have time where they are in charge of what they do and how they do it. 

 Gives Parents A Break
As much as we all love our children and want to keep them happy, parents need down time too. We too need a break from the busyness of our schedules sometimes.  Let your kids entertain themselves occasionally and take some time for something you enjoy!  

 What are your kiddos favorite activities when given unstructured time?
If you enjoyed this post, check out:

 -Set Up Your Own Creation Station STEAM Table

-Why We Don't Do Bedtimes
Follow me on:
Facebook
Pinterest
Instagram
Twitter
Labels:

Comments

  1. Joanne January 18, 2019 at 3:42 AM

    Oh I completely agree! In fact, I'm pretty sure I wrote a semi-similar post at one time. I'm often amazed when I hear of some kids' activity schedule and wonder how they (and their families!) don't get burnt out running from one activity to the next. I much prefer a slower pace. Thanks so much for sharing with us at Encouraging Hearts and Home. Pinned.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne January 24, 2019 at 3:29 AM

      Just wanted to let you know that this post was picked as one of my featured favorites at the Encouraging Hearts and Home party today.

      Delete
    2. Brandy NicoleFebruary 9, 2019 at 8:06 PM

      Thank you for featuring my post! :-)

      Delete
    3. Brandy NicoleFebruary 9, 2019 at 8:07 PM

      I definitely enjoy life at a slower pace too. I like our down time :-)

      Delete
  2. GaleJanuary 24, 2020 at 12:44 PM

    I so agree. Boredom can be fruitful!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Water Relay Races For Kids

I don't know about your kids, but mine absolutely love games involving water and getting wet in the summer time. In  this post I share 5 of our favorite water relay races to play with friends. These are perfect for birthday parties, homeschool get togethers, and other group events. Sponge Relay: For this relay you will need: - 2 teams of several kids each -2 large sponges -4 small buckets or containers of some sort Divide your participants into 2 teams and have each team line up single file at a predetermined starting place.  Hand out a sponge to the first participant in each line. Set a bucket of water by each team. Set an empty bucket about 20 ft away from each team.  The two empty buckets should be the same size and should have a "fill line" marked half way up. On a count of 3 (or ready set go) the first participant in each line should dip their sponge in the bucket of water, run to the empty bucket, squeeze the water from their spo
2 comments
Read more

STEM Art: 21 STEAM Project Ideas

My kids love STEM projects and we're always looking for ways to add more art to our homeschool days, so I decided I am going to try to dedicate one morning a week this year to STEM art activities. In this post I share some of the ideas we're planning to try, plus a few favorites we've done in the past. What is STEM Education? STEM education is a blended and often hands on approach to teaching science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, which are some of today's fastest growing industries. STEM education offers students the opportunity to problem solve and work on real world problems and questions. Sometimes the acronym STEAM is used, to include the arts. Adding art to STEM education encourages creative thinking and problem solving skills. It can also help make the other included subjects more appealing to some students. STEM Art Projects  Penny Spinners-   Learn about centrifugal force and make your own spinning tops with this fun post from Teach Beside Me. Explo
Post a Comment
Read more

Make Your Own Mineral Identification Kit

One of my family's favorite hobbies is rock hounding. We love collecting and trying to identify neat rock and mineral specimens that we come across. You can put together your own simple kit for identifying rocks and minerals with materials you likely already have around your home. In this post I will explain how to put together your own mineral identification kit and how to use it to identify rocks and minerals you find on your adventures. Making a Rock and Mineral ID Kit Grab yourself a printable Rock and Mineral Journal for recording your observations here:  Printable Rock and Mineral Journal ,  and then gather the following supplies: -A pencil -A coin -An iron nail -A piece of glass (an old pocket mirror works well) -A ceramic tile -A small watertight bottle or container -Some vinegar -A magnet  -A magnifying glass -A dropper (optional)  -Rock and mineral guide (optional)  -A small container or bag to keep it all in Fill the small watertight
1 comment
Read more

Learning About Thailand: Activities and Resources

Thailand ended up being a really fun country to study. There are so many amazing Thai recipes to try and lots of neat buildings and monuments to learn about. My family's favorite part of this unit study was learning about Asian elephants, they are such interesting and intelligent animals!  Basic Information  Thailand is a country in southern Asia. It is boarderd by Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and the Andaman Sea. The northern region is mountainous while the southern region is hilly and forested. Capital- Bangkok Population- 69.6 million Size- 198,115 square miles Currency- Baht   Type of Government- Constitutional Monarchy National Anthem-  Phleng Chat Thai National Animal- elephant Flag Famous Places The Grand Palace- The Grand Palace in Bangkok was used as the official royal residence of Thailand from 1782 to 1925. It is still used today for ceremonies and state functions. The palace sits on the banks of the Chao Phraya River. It consists of many buildings and pavilions set around a
Post a Comment
Read more

Learning About The Human Body Part 1: The Skeletal And Muscular Systems

At the end of each school year, I sit down with my daughter to discuss what topics she wants to learn about the next year. One of her science topics she picked to study this year was the human body. Instead of ordering a boxed curriculum set, I decided to put together my own human body unit. In this post I share some of the resources we used for learning about the human skeletal and muscular systems, plus instructions for a couple hands on learning activities. You can find my post about the human respiratory and circulatory systems  here , and my post about the human digestive and nervous systems  here . The Human Skeletal System Our skeletons are the frame of our body. They give us structure, without them our bodies would be limp like noodles. They also provide places for muscles to attach so our bodies can move. Why Does Your Body Need Calcium? Experiment: This is a simple experiment you can do to explore why calcium is important for our bones. You will need: -several clean
5 comments
Read more