If we keep amusing our children whenever they get bored, we may be depriving them of important skills beneficial to their personality development.
After reading this article, you are probably going to think twice before taking action in favor of your children every time they complain of feeling bored. And that’s because if you don’t, you will only be instigating them to become each time more dependent on you to solve issues that are their own, and therefore contributing to a certain learned helplessness within themselves.
So, by now, you might want to step back next time you hear a “I’m bored” from your children, for by doing so you will be getting them to think with their own minds and learn to be resilient “” which basically means adjusting easily to misfortune or change.
By not just simply doing something to amuse your children, you will be encouraging them to find new ways to leave boredom, what also makes them feel good about themselves once they’ve done it through a solving process challenge.
According to Associate Professor Dr Michael Nagel from the University of the Sunshine Coast, children are actually quite capable of entertaining themselves, including those of pre-school age.
Dr Nagel thinks that, when in a situation with no option but self-entertainment, children are challenged to think of things to do and to find ways to make use of what the surrounding environment.has to offer. That’s when they come up with imaginary friends, cubby houses building, food cooking or anything oftenly rejected by this current generation.
What matters in the end is how important it is for child development the role of freedom and independence in exploring through self-directed play.
It is time to be known the impressive capacity children have to play with simple and unpretentious things and find enjoyment within themselves, having no need to be overloaded with modern toys, tv and technology. They don’t need to be stimulated all the time either; actually, what they truly need is downtime, time to rest and relax, for their brains are growing and changing, claiming for a rest just like their body needs one.
It is certain that responding positively to children with full attention is beneficial for their development. However, being their entertainment one and only provider proves itself to be detrimental. Why not give them a chance to let them think for themselves?
