This favorite season of ours may be winding down, but there are still a few weeks before school starts. And definitely still some time to fit in some good, Old Fashioned play. Summer break may seem like a fantastic time to enjoy quality family time together but what happens when your kids are constantly saying ‘I’m bored’ all summer break long? Kids are often kept pretty busy during the school season with homework, studies, testing, and even extra-curricular activities, which is why kids are often found rather bored during summer break. While you may want to step in and figured out how to keep your kids entertained, that’s not always the best solution. When it comes to learning how to respond to ‘I’m bored’ this summer it’s best to practice a little bit of restraint so that you can inspire your kids to be more creative and develop strong problem-solving skills.
How to Keep Kids from Saying ‘I’m Bored’ This Summer
That’s Okay
While this phrase may leave your kids completely stumped, responding with ‘That’s okay” will inspire your kids to go away and figure out how to solve their boredom problem on their own. Letting your kids be okay with being bored helps spark creativity and imagination as they come to terms with the fact that you’re not going to step in and provide solutions to their boredom problem.
Clean Something
Ah, the lovely idea of assigning chores to bored children. This is a fabulous way to keep your house clean as well as to respond to your kids’ ‘I’m bored’ with a solution that they will more than likely not opt to do. When you use the phrase, ‘clean something’ as a response to your kids’ boredom, they’ll quickly figure out a way to keep busy in a way that doesn’t involve household chores.
When your kids come to you saying that they’re bored try to encourage them to read a book. It’s always a good idea to have some books on hand during summer break anyways, so why not visit your local library periodically during summer break so that the kids are able to have a good selection of books on hand to read when they get bored.
Be sure to get your kids outside as often as possible, consider making it a family rule that anytime your kids come to you saying they’re bored that they have to go outside to find something to do. This will inspire physical activity as well as inspire your kids to come up with boredom solutions on their own on a regular basis.
Tell your kids to get creative whenever they come to you being bored. This is easier to do when you have a craft supply area set up with loads of things for your kids to get crafty with during summer break. You can easily go to your local dollar store or craft store to stock up on craft supplies to ensure your kids have many creative outlets to work with during times of high boredom.
Tell your kids to find their own solution to boredom. When your kids start to get used to you figuring out solutions for their boredom they tend to be more clingy and whiny. It’s best to start practicing this method of telling your kids to find their own solution when they come to you saying they’re bored so that they don’t get into the habit of having you solve all of their problems in life.
At the end of the day, the best way to respond to ‘I’m bored’ in these final days of summer is to make sure that you’re replying in a way that encourages your kids to be more independent and creative in their own way. Allowing your kids to figure out how to solve their boredom will alleviate some stress off your shoulders and in turn allow your kids to become more independent and perhaps even encourage them to find new interests that they never knew they had.
Classic ideas!