Do you feel like every day your child is complaining about being bored? In today’s fast-paced world, boredom is often perceived as a negative thing. Recent studies have found that less than one out of five parents strongly agrees that there may be benefits of boredom for kids who occasionally cannot seem to keep themselves occupied. Curious to know why boredom may benefit your kids?
WHY CHILDREN OF TODAY CANNOT COPE WITH BOREDOM
We live in a highly digital era where technology and consumerism have raised the accessibility of extra-curricular activities for kids. This has enabled our children to lead structured lives with little time to be alone with their thoughts. Alongside that, we’re seeing an increase in the number of families with both parents working long hours, which contributes to this situation. It can lead to more children spending time in childcare or daycare where organized activities are part of its curriculum.
BOREDOM ENCOURAGES CREATIVITY
When children are left to explore on their own instead of being forced to stick to structured activities, they are given an opportunity to be creative and find ways to occupy themselves. This creates room for them to develop decision-making skills to derive from the activities that bring them joy.
BOREDOM INSTILLS RESILIENCE
Resilience is key in helping children build a sense of independence which can let them survive a difficult situation. When kids are bored, they are forced to think of ways to keep themselves occupied. This is important to help instill resilience and a sense of leadership.
BOREDOM INSPIRES PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS
Do you feel that your child always turns to you for a solution? This has to stop in order to allow your child to develop their own problem-solving skills. Being bored can help inspire problem-solving skills as kids are forced to find new ways to get out of boredom.
BOREDOM HELPS FORGE RELATIONSHIPS
Allowing your child to have unstructured playtime with other kids can help your child forge new relationships. When given free time and space to play outdoors,, children can learn to plan and collaborate with one another to develop fun games while sharing fun children’s toys.
BOREDOM BUILDS CONFIDENCE
When your child gets to keep themselves occupied without your assistance, they will feel a sense of achievement. This helps to raise their confidence level which is great for personal development.
BOREDOM IMPROVES MENTAL HEALTH
Amidst a busy schedule, people are given little time to perform self-reflection. Having ample time to spend on activities that they prefer, children are given the chance to get to know themselves better and build on their mental health while r minds wander.
BOREDOM IMPROVES MOTOR SKILLS
For younger children, give them the freedom to choose the type of activities that they perceive as entertaining. From playing with exciting toy figurines for children to climbing the trees outside, children are bound to find something that they enjoy. These physical activities help to improve their mood and also develop their motor skills.