The article emphasizes the importance of letting children manage boredom independently. It critiques the modern tendency for overly scheduling kids with activities instead of allowing downtime or 'restoration time.' This time without structured activities encourages creativity and self-reliance. The narrative features a family discussing summer plans for a child, Sam, and juxtaposes traditional wisdom, like a grandmother’s advice on finding activities, with current parenting concerns. The messages underline that boredom can lead to essential life skills and creativity when children take the initiative to engage themselves.
Are grandparents in agreement with today's pro-boredom experts? It's exhausting work managing a bored whiner. How can it possibly be pro-development without becoming just one more thing for modern parents to fix or manage?
Hon, you're the one feelin' it, so you're the one fixin' it. Eventually, cousin Pat slouched off to play dolls with herself, not her busy mom.
My plain-talking Aunt Reathel once told my moping 6-year-old cousin who was chanting 'bored, bored, bored...' as she circled the common room, 'Hon, you're the one feelin' it, so you're the one fixin' it.'
By learning to manage boredom on their own, children develop critical life skills that will persist far beyond their childhood.
Collection
[
|
...
]