SUNNYSIDE SCOOP MAY/JUNE, 2019
Principal Points May/June 2019 Summer Boredom It’s hard to believe, but we are in our final full month of school, and before we know it summer vacation will be upon us. If your kids are anything like mine, you’ve probably heard them say, “I’m bored” about a thousand times over summer vacation. Our kids usually live in a very structured world, but interestingly enough, there is research that shows boredom is actually healthy for kids. Psychoanalyst Adam Phillips wrote that the “capacity to be bored can be a developmental achievement for the child.” Boredom is a chance to contemplate life, rather than rushing through it. One researcher suggests that at the start of the summer, parents sit down with their kids and collectively write down a list of everything their child might enjoy doing during their summer break. These can be basic activities, such as playing cards, reading a book, or going for a bicycle ride. They could also be more elaborate ideas such as cooking a fancy dinner, putting on a play, or practicing photography. Then, if your child comes to you throughout the summer complaining of boredom, tell them to go and look at their list. It puts the onus on them to say, ‘This is what I’d like to do’. While there’s a good chance children might mope around for a while and be bored, it’s important to realize this isn’t wasted time. Boredom also allows for kids to be kids, as well as allowing creativity to be sparked. Allowing kids the opportunity to be creative can lead to some of their most creative moments, such as making a fort with blankets and pillows, designing homemade puppet shows, and one of my kids favorites when they were younger, playing in the mud and making mud pies and “meals” for their dad to try out. While it’s easy to fill our kids’ days with activities to keep them busy, I’d encourage you to build in time for some healthy summer boredom and allow your kids the opportunity to come up with ideas to be creative as well. Doing so helps shape our kids into healthy self-sufficient adults. Partnering with you, Dr. Flansburg