Creativity and Boredom

Inside: Free boredom Buster Ideas {Printable}

My dad always said creativity and imagination lived just on the other side of boredom.

I used to think that was so stupid.

Sorry, dad.

Then I grew up.

collage of kids being creative, kid in sheet fort reading, kids hands with paper crafts, girl in fort using telescope

My husband and I watch this truth play out not only in our own lives, but the lives of our children as well.
We have 5 very talented and creative boys.

Yes, I am biased, but I am telling you it’s true.

Related: 30 Things to do when Bored

Our boys are Lego architects, writers, painters, musicians, and simply a whole bunch of fun to be around.

Before I sound too much like a snotty prideful mom, I want to repeat what my dad always told me:

“Creativity and Imagination live just on the other side of boredom.”

Related: Sometimes the perfect thing to hand a bored child is a broom, something to explore, or a lesson to learn (like doodling).

Here is the secret to growing amazingly creative and imaginative kids…

…Let them be bored!

Allow your kids to get bored.

I mean really bored.

Do not rescue them (unless there’s blood).
Do not turn on the TV and absolutely ban “all things electronic. (not all the time, just often)
Tell them all you have is an endless list of chores for them to complete if they come to you for suggestions.
If the weather permits, send ’em outside and tell them they cannot come in until the timer dings. At least an hour!
Sit back and wait…

Depending on how over-stimulated and over-scheduled your kids are, there will likely be a delay between their first boredom appointment and the flow of creativity.

FUN: Your Ticket for Boredom Busters

It could be a few minutes or a few days.

Trust me it’s worth the wait!

Plan for regular periods of boredom.

Daily is best.

You may think I am crazy, but I am quite sane.

Bored kids:

Create the “new games”
Create awesome forts
Write creative stories
Rediscover old toys
Think painting a fence is fun
Weave complicated characters and events into their make-believe playtime
Doodle and draw
Change the world
Study new ideas, topics, and subjects!

Related: Bored at a Restaurant?

Now, if you just cannot handle the thought of allowing your children to become really bored, or if the thought of the possibly whining makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck: cheat. (That’s another lesson from my dad)

Go to the local thrift stores and let them buy some new dress-up clothes.
Pick up a few (or a few dozen) empty cardboard boxes.
Get a FUN and Wacky game
Buy an assortment of PVC piping and let them create.
Find a spell-binding book to read aloud at breakfast or lunch. Be sure to stop reading at an exciting part! This is a great time to send them off. My kids end up personifying literary characters often!
Buy some spiral bound notebooks and “special pens” to help them write a creative story (Tell them you will not correct spelling and grammar… just let them write).
Invite a “cool big kid” over to play.

As homeschoolers, we can over schedule our children’s lives to the point of physical and mental exhaustion.

Slow down.