“Mommy, I’m Bored”! by Darlene Hull

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“Mommy, I’m Bored”!
by Darlene Hull

Isn’t it funny how kids spend the last month or two of school eagerly anticipating the Summer Holidays only to find that by day three they’re bored out of their minds? It’s enough to drive a mom crazy!

Part of the problem is that our kids today are so over-scheduled and over-booked that they’ve never had a chance to think an original thought or explore things on their own. Then they go from that over-scheduling to no scheduling and they don’t know how to cope.

Well, if you’re a mom being driven crazy by the “I’m Bored Whine”, here are some things you can do to help your kids adjust:

1. Let them be bored. If your kids are bored enough, long enough, they will eventually find something to do. Just keep them off the screen as much as possible as screen activities (computer, game consoles, hand-held games, DVD’s) will act like a boredom “Bandaid”, not a solution.

2. Make sure you have a few stimulating things around the house – a magnifying glass, bug catcher, gardening tools, balloons, bubble solution, etc., to help stimulate your child’s creativity.

3. Have a “yes” policy. It might mean more mess (which your kids can help you clean up if they’re not old enough to do it on their own), and/or more inconvenience, but giving a child room to do wild and crazy things (within limits of safety, of course) is a great way to encourage creativity and to help your child discover who they are.

4. Have good family time. Listen to audio books together (we LOVE these in our family), visit museums, check out the summer activities in your area, do day trips, camp in the back yard, etc. Take advantage of the slower schedule to re-connect as a family.

5. Be prepared. Have a list of great things to do (though don’t offer them as a first resort, only as a last resort!) that you can offer your kids. Plan a creative activity for each day to get the juices flowing.

That should be enough to get you started. Remember that the Internet has a wealth of information if you’re needing to stimulate your own creativity to make this happen. Energy invested at the beginning of the summer to set this up will reap rewards in happy kids all summer long.

Darlene Hull

Author's Biography:

Darlene is a happily married, homeschooling mom of two teens, and also a writer, coach, facilitator, and an entrepreneur. Get her

Posted on: July 9,2007

Email: darlene@mom-defrazzler.com
Website: http://www.mom-defrazzler.com