"Back when I was young, we used to stay outside until the street lights came on!" "We didn't stay inside and play video games all day!" According to a survey, the average parent thinks their child could only keep themselves entertained outside for 32 MINUTES before getting bored. It's not JUST video games keeping them inside, these days there's also Netflix, Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, and other social media and streaming services.
72% of parents admit their family as a whole doesn't go outside enough . . . even though 63% say their kids seem happier after playing outside. Overall, 59 percent estimated their family spends less than half of their quality time together out of the house.
Even if that 32 minute mark was true, is it really a bad thing for kids to get bored? Suzanne Bouffard, developmental psychologist, and author of The Most Important Year: Pre-Kindergarten and the Future of Our Children says "Letting your kids be bored will accomplish something else important: developing them into interesting, funny, thoughtful people who can have dinner time conversations and cope with long car rides."
Being bored has it's benefits. It can teach a child to Being present and aware of the world around them. "Even though they don’t realize it, kids need us to make the space for them to be drawn in by the world around them." Bouffard says "If we never let them get bored, they never discover how interesting the world really is."
Taking brain breaks is also important. Yes a Kids’ brains need stimulation, but they need downtime, too. She says "there’s also something to be said for good, old-fashioned staring off into space." Other benefits include being creative and fostering independence just to name a few.
Of course, being bored all the time isn’t healthy but where is the line between TOO much boredom and not enough? Suzanne says "It’s different for every kid and every family, and it may take some time to figure out where your line is. It can be hard to let your kids be bored." Yes it can be tough to live through their boredom but they will learn to be "self-sufficient, engaged and aware of the world around them."
