What do you do when you hear the child say the dreaded “I’m bored”?  Maybe I just don’t remember, or it didn’t happen very often, but I was very seldom bored.  There was always something to do and if there wasn’t, I made it up.  Besides school of course, my life was full of playing in the dirt, in the rain, in the snow and on hot sunny days.  I rode my bike, went to friends’ houses, went to the library.  I read books, (LOTS of books), rode my bike, played tennis and listened to music.  When I ran out of stuff to do, I rearranged my bedroom or decorated it with things I cut out of construction paper.  Don’t laugh.

I had one younger brother who was a great friend, and we spent hours playing make-believe school, driving toy cars in the dirt, building snow forts or creating music performances for our parents.  There were no screens (other than TV), but other than Saturday morning cartoons, we didn’t watch it much.  Sure, we grew up in the era of “go outside and play until dinner” but I think we would have found something to do even if we hadn’t.

Move now to today’s children who feel like they are bored all the time.  They’re bored at school, bored at home, bored when they go out, UNLESS they have a device to keep them entertained.  It concerns me greatly when I see young parents walk into a restaurant with young children who are armed with some kind of device, who then ignore the kids throughout the meal.  There is no chance for children to learn how to behave in public, have conversation and socialize without a device because the number one objective is to make sure the kids are not bored in the easiest way possible.  And children are indoctrinated so early that I’m seeing parents hand babies devices in their strollers to keep them from fussing.  The reason kids are fussing is because they need human connection for something, sometimes something as simple as a smile and kind word from an adult.  Kids also need to learn how to find something to do when they’re bored.

Before you think I’m just a grumpy old lady/teacher, let’s talk about the research behind my concern.  According to UNICEF, screen time inhibits kids from reading faces and learning social skills, things that people need to develop empathy.  Face to face time is the only way kids learn how to read non-verbal cues and interpret them.  Imagine now a 5^th grader who has been on a device the majority of their life and you begin to wonder how much it contributes to unkindness and bullying. 

Being locked into screens keeps kids from observing and experiencing day to day activities which inhibits them from participating in life in a meaningful way.  It contributes to obesity, conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder. It can decrease cognitive function and cause repetitive stress injuries.  All this in the name of keeping our kids from being “bored”. 

On the other hand, allowing kids to be bored fosters creativity, self-esteem and original thinking.  What adults need to do is help kids manage their boredom so they can develop independence and not hand them something that takes that independence away. Boredom allows kids to figure out what they like to do and who they want to be. One of the best quotes I’ve heard is that only boring people get bored. 

For those who have children who have been on devices for a while, I won’t lie, it will be difficult to wean them away from something that has literally affected how they think and function and kept them from being bored. Instead of putting a child in front of a screen, how about handing them a good book, or reading to them.  Hand them some Legos or blocks and let them build something.  Provide paper and crayons or paints and let them create something.  Give them music to sing and dance to.  While it’s easy to hand a child a screen and harder to provide materials, in the long run it will pay off as our kids grow up to be more empathetic, more creative and have a healthier self-esteem by allowing them to be bored.