Bringing common sense with a grain of salt back to parenting!
We may think boredom means we’re failing as parents. In reality, when kids have nothing to do, they’re learning how to fill the space with creativity, resilience, and maybe even silence (gasp!).
Mistake: Treating “I’m bored” as a crisis that demands immediate parental intervention.
Consequence: You drop everything like a 911 dispatcher: “Quick! Fetch the iPad, the craft supplies, the marching band!”
Reality Check: Boredom is not dangerous. In fact, it’s where imagination and problem-solving are born.
Four-year-olds get bored multiple times per hour. For parents, each “I’m bored” can feel like an indictment: Am I not giving enough? Should I plan more? Do I need to become a 24/7 cruise director?
But boredom isn’t a crisis. It’s not even bad. So let's look into why parents fear it, how culture makes it worse, and why letting kids ocassionally stew in boredom might just be one of the best gifts you can give them.
THE ISSUE
Picture this: Saturday afternoon. You’ve provided playdough, Lego, crayons, a backyard full of sticks, and a bookshelf overflowing with picture books. Five minutes later:
“Mommmm. I’m boooored.”
It’s said with the same dramatic intonation you’d expect from someone trapped in an elevator for three days. You freeze. Heart racing. Adrenaline pumping. Because in the modern parenting world, boredom is treated like neglect.
And so begins the frantic tap-dance: pulling out board games, suggesting crafts, narrating storytime, and eventually, giving in to the holy grail of emergency entertainment — screens.
Parents today have been conditioned to see boredom as failure. But here’s the twist: boredom is one of the most useful states for a developing child. It’s the blank canvas where creativity, problem-solving, and resilience take root. The problem isn’t kids being bored. The problem is that we can’t tolerate it.
WHY PARENTS DO THIS
Let’s be honest: we don’t leap into “anti-boredom mode” because kids can’t handle it. We do it because we can’t.
We Feel Guilty. If our child is bored, maybe we’re not doing enough. After all, Instagram shows kids painting murals and conducting science experiments every weekend. Meanwhile, ours is poking a Cheerio with a fork.
We Fear Judgment. If a neighbor pops by and finds our child sprawled on the floor sighing, we imagine the headline: “Local parent provides zero enrichment.”
We Grew Up Differently. Back then, boredom was normal. You stared at the ceiling fan for an hour. Nobody rushed in to curate activities. But now, with the constant drumbeat of “early enrichment,” we panic if our kids aren’t engaged 100% of the time.
We Confuse Boredom with Misbehavior. A bored child can look suspiciously like a destructive child. (Because five minutes after saying “I’m bored,” they’re painting the dog with yogurt.)
We’ve Been Marketed Into It. The toy industry thrives on convincing us that boredom is bad. Enter the endless aisles of “boredom busters.” Spoiler: none of them prevent it for more than couple of minutes.
This fear of kids' boredom wasn't always the case. In olders times (1980s/90s):
Parents responded to “I’m bored” with, “Go outside.” End of story.
Entertainment consisted of sticks, bikes, and poking siblings.
Summers stretched out in long, unsupervised hours of nothing.
If kids complained, they got chores: “Oh, you’re bored? Rake the leaves.”
But now (2020s):
Parents scramble like unpaid camp counselors, scheduling enrichment, crafts, and STEM kits.
Entertainment cosists of curated activities, Pinterest-worthy crafts, and screens.
Summers are packed with camps, classes, and “educational play.”
If kids complain, parents panic: “Quick! Download another app!”
Boredom used to be a rite of passage. Now it’s treated almost like parental malpractice.
HOW THIS HARMS CHILDREN (AND US)
Treating boredom like a crisis creates more problems than it solves:
Creativity Shrivels. Without empty space, kids don’t invent games or stories.
Resilience Weakens. They learn that discomfort must be instantly erased.
Entitlement Grows. If life always provides entertainment, they expect it.
Problem-Solving Skills Decline. They don’t learn how to fill time independently.
Parental Burnout Skyrockets. You can’t be a 24/7 clown show. It’s unsustainable.
WHY IT’S TEMPTING TO KEEP DOING IT
Because in the short term, rescuing kids from boredom works.
They stop whining.
They leave us alone (briefly).
We feel like a “good parent” because our child is happily occupied.
But the long-term tradeoff? Kids who never learn to entertain themselves, and parents who feel like cruise directors on a ship that never docks.
AVOIDING THE TRAP
Here are some suggestions to stop treating “I’m bored” like a four-alarm fire:
1. Redefine Boredom
Boredom isn’t an emergency — it’s an invitation. Remind yourself: it’s not your failure, it’s their opportunity. (If your child can survive broccoli, they can survive five minutes of staring at the ceiling.)
2. Stop Jumping In Immediately
Resist the urge to solve boredom right away. Give it space. Often, five minutes later, they’ll invent a game out of sofa cushions. (A child claimed he was “dying of boredom” — then invented a game where he taught stuffed animals karate. Ten minutes later, he was a black-belt coach.)
3. Offer Chores as the Backup Plan
When kids whine, say, “You can help fold laundry.” Suddenly, boredom seems less deadly.
(This mirrors the old-school response: “Oh, you’re bored? The garage could use sweeping.”)
4. Create a “Boredom Box”
Fill it with random, open-ended items: paper tubes, clothespins, cardboard, markers. Not toys — materials. When boredom hits, hand it over. (Within an hour, they might invent a puppet show or a makeshift slingshot. Either way, mission accomplished.)
5. Normalize Doing Nothing
Model downtime. Sit with tea, stare out the window, read a book. Kids learn that not every moment has to be filled with activity. (According to my freind, her daughter, seeing her dad sit quietly, asked, “What are you doing?” He replied, “Nothing.” Shocked silence. Two days later, she tried it herself — and fell asleep on the couch.)
6. Reframe Screens as Last Resort, Not First Aid
Screens aren’t evil, but when used as the default boredom cure, they block creativity. Save them for long car rides or special downtime. (Suggestion: Consider it a “rainy-day tool,” not a “daily vitamin.”)
7. Teach Kids to Say “I’ll Figure It Out”
Give them language to replace “I’m bored.” Encourage: “I’ll figure out what to do.” Over time, it can become a mantra of independence.
8. Plan Boredom Windows
Intentionally leave some time unscheduled. The magic of unstructured play only emerges when space exists. (If your kid's calendar looks like an air traffic control schedule, there’s no room for imagination to land.)
MISTAKES TO AVOID
Turning every “I’m bored” into a playdate, project, or new toy.
Treating boredom as a personal failure.
Handing over screens as the automatic solution.
Over-scheduling to prevent boredom entirely.
THE PAYOFF
When boredom stops being the enemy:
Kids discover creativity — the puppet shows, the sofa-fort kingdoms, the games with rules only they understand.
Parents stop feeling like on-demand entertainers.
Families rediscover peace — moments of quiet, silliness, and genuine imagination.
Your child won’t remember every sigh of boredom. But they will remember the worlds they built in empty afternoons: forts, adventures, silly songs, and bizarre inventions.
So next time you hear “I’m bored,” don’t panic. Don’t reach for the sticker chart, the iPad, or the glitter explosion craft. Take a deep breath. Smile. And maybe even say, “Good. That’s where the best ideas start.”
Because boredom isn’t a crisis. It’s a canvas.
© Kristijan Musek Lešnik, 2025
