Boredom is a scary word for many. We all are constantly trying to keep ourselves occupied to avoid boredom. Similarly, we tend to get highly conscious of our children's boredom and continuously entertain them.
Boredom has a reputation associated with dread. But there is something that we don't realize. Irrespective of us being engaged or not, our brain doesn't stop working ever. Boredom doesn't mean the end of our functioning. Although we all can agree that boredom is not fun, it is not super distressing either.
As parents, we tend to idolize the process of constantly supplying kids with activities. With today's boom in digital screens, giving your child your phone or iPad does seem like an easy way to go about keeping your child occupied. So let's see why we should instead be choosing to let our kids get bored.
Boredom enhances problem-solving skills
When a child is bored and does not have any external support to help them with entertainment, they have to entertain themselves, which leads to daydreaming about before solving boredom. A 2014 research claims that people who had more time for daydreaming before solving a problem tend to find answers faster.
Similarly, in daily life, when a child has to come up with their own ways to entertain themselves, it provides them with an opportunity to eventually develop problem solving skills. They will also start taking pride in the decisions they make. For example, they will feel proud about picking a perfect toy for themselves to build a sand castle. When parents don't intervene with a child's boredom, they will develop their own definition of fun.
Boredom helps children form relationships
Children often have their whole day structured for them. Having unstructured time in a day can force them to find something to do, which can often lead to playing with other children. It helps them to collaborate and negotiate with each other and develop activities together. This can improve their interpersonal skills and communication skills. Certain things can only be learned through experiences, and interpersonal relationships are one such experiential learning.
Boredom improves mental health
It is healthy to let the mind wander. Unfortunately, both kids and adults equally don't find time to do that.
Rather than having the brain focus on planned events or schedules, it should also get some time to "be." Boredom lets their brain wander, which expands the vocabulary of thoughts.
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