Kavita just returned from the office. It was a bad day. Her boss shouted at her, her presentation was not up to the mark, she had an argument with a colleague. All in all, everything was bad today.
As she entered home, her 3 year old son Ansh hugged her. As he wrapped himself around her, he said the most dreaded words she could expect at that moment.
“Mumma, I am bored. Please play with me.” Ansh said hopefully.
Kavita unwillingly gives in: “Ok, Ansh, Let’s play”.
She asked him to grab some of his baby toys, and a ball…
But mumma I am big now, I know I know Kavita chuckled,
She arranged some old stackers, cones, tin boxes as a fort and made him roll the ball to aim and hit, while she sipped her tea calmingly and they together munched on some snacks. Before she knew it, Ansh was gain on his own, hopping and skipping around the house which gave Kavita a guiltfree “me time”.
She had a much needed realisation – there is nothing in the world more precious than to see the twinkle in her son’s eyes and smile on his face.
Next time Ansh caught her by surprise by collecting his game boxes, tin cookie jar, cardboard rolls and some playdough to join these and make a castle for her!
Sometimes, all they need is a little nudge every now and then, it might also be their way of spending time with us. All we need to do is just tune in.
Good News: Experts say, boredom is good for your kids.
Yes, you heard it right. Let’s find out how.
Parents are often clueless and feel guilty about what to do when their little ones seem to have nothing to do. Relax parents, it’s not your responsibility to fill every moment of your child’s time. Boredom helps the brain to recover from an overstimulated environment and children get to become less reliant on you as their source of fun and excitement. (Read The Art & Science of Boredom)
In fact, you should plan the “No Plans” every now and then. Here are some of the reasons why:
- Boredom is the elixir of Creativity & Imagination: When children are left alone without someone else dictating them what to do next, or there are no gadgets or toys around to distract, they tend to figure out ways to occupy themselves. Exploration opens doors to imagination and brings out the joy of curiously discovering the world around. And just like that they learn to keep themselves entertained!!
- Boredom is the highway to Drive and Ambition: When young minds are at rest, watch the spark as their internal sense of self takes over. When children are on their quest to find new entertaining ways, they are bound to come across failures and hurdles. These little obstacles prepare them for an important life lesson to never give up and keep trying until they get it right.
- Boredom is Magical: As these tiny humans take charge, their sense of being comes oozing out of them and disperses all over into this incredible energy to create and do and conquer. Sit back and enjoy watching as they grow into confident, capable and zestful young people.
So the next time your child slops on the floor and declares – “I’m bored” – stay calm, and give a swagalicious look and do…nothing! For now you know, he will figure out something and be absorbed in those activities, lost in the world of imagination, and more importantly in the world of THEIRS.
Some ideas to instigate those mushrooming nuerons of toddlers and preschoolers:
- Always keep a stash of discarded stuff:
cloth scraps (of any shape colour size),
strings, threads, yarns, ribbons, laces,
discarded containers, bowls, bottle caps,
empty cereal boxes, cartons (any shape or size),
bubble wrap, styrofoam,spools,
loose parts of toys,
wood scraps, PVC pipes,
sieves, discarded ladles,
empty pots, twigs, fallen flowers,
newspapers, old magazines,
the list is endless,,,)
Oh! and do not forget to throw in scissors, glue, clay, playdough,…
And if you are around you can even over some different size and shaped lentils, make some mud with used coffee grounds, Our toddler and preschooler would just love foraging through it!!!
- Paints & Brushes: Keep an eye of different textures available around the house, for your child to explore using it as a medium to paint.
Look around your kitchen: foil, sponges, pipe cleaners, cling film, carrots, potatoes, lady fingers, lemons, sponge, pipe cleaners, toothbrush. You can eveb make nature brushes by tying different types of leaves, flowers, to twigs…!
- Blowing, Squeezing, Squishing: Look for old medicine droppers, tweezers, straws, brushes to exercise their finger muscles. Some ideas to get you started – asking them drop water using droppers to feed their thirsty animals, or blow some paint on paper using straw, brushing away some colour on a newspapers creating their own art.
- Bathing Toys: What better way to inculcate the habit of a keeping dust free paraphenaia! Drip some baby safe liquid in a tub of water, another tub with clean water, sponge and wash cloth.. let your little ones rejoice in ccleaning and bathing their toys (of course, let them know which ones to wash and which ones to just wipe with a dust cloth). I should warn you their willl be dozens of stories around it while doing so, because this age is all about expression!
All this is surely may sound messy but a little price to pay to see the twinkle in your little one’s eyes… isn’t it? You could do such activities in balconies or spare rooms which do not need immediate clean up and can be done at your convenience!
So sit back and be ready to be awed as these little ones explore and create. Blend in in their giggles, laughter, and enthusiasm and see all your stress just melting away.
Boredom doesn’t always have to be a negative word. It all depends on what kind of a perception of it you are instilling in your child.
In the movie ‘The Sky is Pink’, the mother tells the child to paint his sky in any colour he wishes to, blue, green or pink. You also let your child paint its boredom in any constructive way as it likes.
Let your child be bored and thereby creative!