Parenting Life-Hacks: Avoiding The "Fear of Boredom" Trap

dr. Kristijan Musek Lešnik
Oct 17, 2025
2 min read

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 the birthplace of imagination, problem-solving, and resilience... sometimes it's can actually be one of greatest gifts we can give to our kids.

“If we rush to cure boredom, we rob kids of creativity.”

AVOIDING THE TRAP

Here are some ideas that might prove useful when we feel the urge to jump every time we hear “I’m bored.”

Redefine Boredom. It’s not failure. It’s opportunity. If your child can survive broccoli, they can survive five minutes of staring at the ceiling.
Don’t Jump In Right Away. Give it space. Five minutes later, they may invent a stuffed-animal karate class.
Offer Chores as the Backup Plan. Respond with, “You can help fold laundry.” Suddenly, boredom doesn’t seem so bad.
Create a Boredom Box. Fill it with random supplies — cardboard tubes, clothespins, markers. Open-ended, not pre-packaged.
Normalize Doing Nothing. Model it. Sit with tea, read, stare out the window. Kids learn downtime is normal.
Save Screens for Last Resort. Not evil, but not the automatic fix. Call them “rainy-day tools,” not “daily vitamins.”
Teach “I’ll Figure It Out”. Replace “I’m bored” with “I’ll find something to do.” Builds independence.
Leave Space in the Calendar. Some unscheduled time is healthy. If life looks like an air traffic control schedule, imagination never lands.