Boredom Busters for Kids

If you are getting a bit nervous about summer because you do not want to feel like a cruise director, planning everyone’s days with fun stuff to keep them busy…

I’ve got the best advice.

Let your kids be bored. We’re covering everything you’ll need “to prepare” in this post! Read on for loads of Easy Boredom Busters.

Scroll down for the free Boredom Buster Download!!

Why being bored is so good for kids

Being bored helps our kids regulate their emotions and develop frustration tolerance– it’s not always fun to be bored and kids have to push thru and manage those initial feelings.
Being bored helps our kids develop planning and organizational strategies….a big plus for our kids that often struggle in this area and can use lots of extra practice.
Being bored and coming up with a plan fosters self-esteem and creative thinking. Kids’ brains need time and space to form creative ideas–something that does not happen when they are constantly being entertained.

Boredom Busters for kids (Summer Version)

It is helpful to be proactive about summer boredom.

Spend time brainstorming with your kids about what activities are available to them during the summer. Go shopping in your own house, first, and uncover stuff your kids forgot about or haven’t played with in awhile.

Then, create a list of activities that includes some of their ideas and some of yours, so when boredom strikes, they are prepared. You may want to create a storage box with specific new or rediscovered items.

You may decide you need a few things to have on hand:

Outdoor toys like a pogo stick, stilts, or this giant frisbee
Some high-quality art supplies.
A few books to entice summer reading.
Your kids won’t even know they are learning with these fun activity books

Rotate these items or reserve them for Independent Leisure time! That way your kids will still be excited to use them.

Summer routines for ADHD kids

Your immediate response to kid’s boredom is important:

Don’t rush right in and help at the first, “I’m bored!”. You can respond with, “I know you’ll figure something out!” or “We talked about a lot of things you could do last week, check your list.”

If you help them in the moment, they will continually ask you for help and it will take them a long time to harness their creativity. Being bored is a fantastic problem to solve.

it’s good for them to struggle a bit

We want to build resilient, independent kids. Let them struggle to find something to do. You can say something simple like, ” Remember, we brainstormed a list?” to cue them to find an activity.

Try your best to not come to their rescue….good stuff is happening in their brain and they problem solve

You can start small.

Use a visual timer and set it for, 15 or 20 minutes, at first for littles and 45 to 60 minutes for older kids. They may be comforted by the finite time and will get used to entertaining themselves for longer and longer periods of time.

Think of it as giving your kids a gift!!

There are so many benefits to boredom and in this highly digital age, giving your kids space to be bored is a tremendous gift that will give them such an advantage as they go through school and life.

Remember, this FREE summer camp will help give your kids lots of ideas for keeping themselves busy and off screens.

Model being bored for your kids

Model screen free activities you like to do when you are “bored”. Let kids see you reading, drawing, …even cleaning or organizing! You can even be so forthright as to say, “I love to ________ when I am bored” Insert….organize, go to the library, paint, write a letter, etc.

You benefit from letting your kids be bored

Having kids who can entertain themselves without you is so fantastic! You just might be able to sneak a little more time for yourself – to relax or get stuff done!