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Boredom is a Gift

Everyone talks about children being resilient yet most people are terrified of letting a child be bored.⁠


This IS Resilience 101.⁠

From infanthood on up, not knowing what to think or do next IS a gift.⁠

It is the body’s way of pacing us.⁠

It is NOT your job to entertain and fill in every quiet moment.⁠

It is NOT your job to occupy every waking moment with an EXPERIENCE.⁠

Children are taught to run from boredom. Children are taught that stillness is bad. The body is asking for the opposite. The body/mind craves a full stop, a pause, reflection…⁠

Instead, you must remind yourself to be comfortable with silence and boredom yourself.⁠

If you do not accept boredom as a learning opportunity for yourself, then how can you model it for your child.⁠

Boredom is a gift for: Infants/Toddlers/Preschoolers/School Age/Teenagers who are bored learn:⁠

Adults are not entertainers.⁠
Being still is not bad.⁠
Thinking can inspire new ideas.⁠
Use toys in new ways makes them new again.⁠
Watching someone without interrupting is informative.⁠
Being by yourself isn’t a bad thing.⁠
Boredom doesn’t signal a problem.⁠
Shopping doesn’t cure boredom (it will return).⁠

What do I say? ⁠

“Indeed you are.”⁠
“I wonder how long it will last”⁠
“You can sit with me till you have an idea”⁠
“Ok”⁠
“Yup, it happens to me so I read.”⁠
“Oh yeah, I usually clean until a new idea comes.”⁠
“Hello, ‘I’m bored’ nice to meet you!”⁠

Start working on it today. It will take a while to build this muscle, but it is so worth it.

Why? because you want teens and young adults who don’t run from boredom directly into drama, over-the-top antics, or spur-of-the-moment bad ideas simply because they were never taught to be bored.⁠

Boredom is a Gift…does this make you think of boredom differently?

Joshua