Parenting Tip #72 I'm Bored

"I'm bored," your child says.

What is your response? I recently heard a talk and the speaker said you should shout, "Hallelujah!" The speaker then went on to say our children need to be more "unplugged" and have less structured activities and lessons. They need more time to play and invent--which comes from being "bored".

I remember several years ago--okay, many, many years ago--my husband and I had taken our 7 children to visit his aunt and uncle at their cabin in the mountains. We had come up to visit so our children could sing for them. But after our little performance, there wasn't much else to do. My husband promptly took a nap, the aunt and uncle disappeared, and the kids and I had hours in front of us with nothing to do. Well, the kids had plenty to do--exploring the woods and creek. I was the one who was TOTALLY BORED. No book to read--nothing.

I was about ready to walk the 100 miles home when I told myself to get a grip on myself. I thought, "what can I do while I'm here with what I brought." I had brought our camera so the thought came to me to make an alphabet book with photographs of the kids in nature. The next 2 hours were the most fun I've had. We brainstormed and found lots of ways to demonstrate the letters in the alphabet. Then a few days later when we were back home, my children helped put all the pictures in order to make our alphabet book.




This has been such a fun book to look at over the years, that at Christmas last year, I took alphabet pictures of my grandchildren who were visiting and made them their own alphabet book.

So if YOU or your children ever get bored (you're saying, yea, like when was the last time I was bored), just say, "YES! Hallelujah!" Then look around and start creating!