That’s right.  We deprive them.

The Result of Deprivation?

Boredom.
Do not be afraid of a bored child. And DO Not rescue them.
On the other side of boredom lives creativity, design, and ingenuity…

A Bit of chaos. 
But out of this chaos, they create kingdoms!

Imaginative play. 
Give the bored kids access to some kind of props. In our home, that means training swords. Even the 16-year-old will run through our yard, sword over head, leading the way on some fantastic quest.

Creativity.
They write, they draw, they create. But these things take time. The mind needs time and space to be creative!

Self-awareness.
In the stillness, they discover who they are. Priceless!

Self Reliance.
In the quiet, kids can be mentored to be self-reliant, problem-solving individuals. If they are always on the run, the temptation is to do too much for them.

Toughness.
Kids today are weak, selfish, and wimpy. They faint at the sight of hard work and they complain about their hard lives. These spoiled, self-indulgent future adults need to have a solid understanding that they do not live in the center of our universe. Do not misunderstand me… I adore my children. All five of them. But my day and clocks are not set by their wants and desires. My husband and I run this little universe of love and they are along for the ride.

I am a blessed mom who actively deprives her children of anything and anything that will make them “less”. TV, candy, lack of sleep, technology, etc…

So what do we deprive them of exactly?
We deprive them of over busy schedules
We leave room in their lives for family, creativity and (GASP) even boredom!

We deprive them of being saving them every time they fail
This one is hardest on me, the mom. They learn better if they fail. Sometimes when they fail miserably! we need to remember that our kids do not always need to be rescued.

We deprive them of technology
My son just asked me if he could play a video game. I answered, “No. Get the heck out of my house!” Yes, I was laughing. Yes, he replied, “I just wanted to see what you would say!”
Kids do not need to be wired into technology. They need limits. Adults set the limits, kids follow them. period.

We deprive them of sitting at a desk all day.
Boys need to run. I recently read a study that kids in Finland that the teachers teach for 45 minutes then they send their kids outside for 15 minutes (rain or shine). Not only do their kids’ test scores outrank most, their kids are more focused.

I tried this with my boys. Yep. It works.  Short bursts outside in between all subjects. MAGIC.

We deprive the boys of staying up late.
All of our kids are sent to bed by 8:00. Even our 16 year old. While we allow the older boys (16, 13) to read for about an hour, the other kids (11, 9) are required to be quiet and sleep.
Kids need sleep!

Deprive your kids.

• Un-busy their lives
• Take away technology for large chunks of time. Be in charge of how much they get.
• Turn off the TV. As often as you can.
• Kick them outside and keep them there until they no longer whine about being there. (In a loving way, in a safe environment, supervised of course)
• Give your kids distance and time.