What to do when kids are "bored"

When I was younger, I would avoid being “bored” by counting ceiling tiles or floor tiles, estimating the size, and calculating the square footage of a room. When my kids tell me that they’re bored, I tell them to start counting. I don’t think any of our children have enjoyed this task as much as I did. :)

A little boredom is good for kids. I don’t believe parenthood automatically puts us in a role of needing to entertain children all day long (as much as they would like us to). Some downtime, with a backyard, living books, craft supplies, and/or cooking ingredients is good for children! That said, it’s sometimes nice to have a list to send children to.

You can present this list in one of two (or more) ways. Here are my ideas:

• Make a “Bored Jar”: write these tasks on little pieces of paper, fold them up, and place them in the jar. The child does the first task they draw from the jar. Pros: they don’t get to be picky about what they’re about to do, they can’t see the whole list, so there is some suspense. Cons: complaints about not liking what they drew, wanting to draw more and more papers to find the “right one,” once a paper is used up, you lose your “list” and have to re-make it.

• Post a “Bored List”: write or type these tasks onto a list and post it somewhere. The child gets to choose a task from the list. Pros: the child gets to choose what they want to do, you don’t lose your list and if you have a digital copy, you can print it again next year. Cons: the child sees all of the tasks at once and there is no suspense, the child may get bored of the list, the child may never choose some of the tasks on the list (tasks that may be good for them).

Once you’ve decided how you will present your boredom ideas, you’ll need to come up with some ideas! Here are mine:

• Play Simon Says

• Make a map of your bedroom

• Play in sprinklers

• Ride your bike

• Play dolls (girls)

• Choreograph a lightsaber fight

• Build a blanket fort

• Play Statues

• Make up a language

• Play soccer

• Bake cookies

• Write a letter to Grandma

• Play indoor bowling

• Look at a science book and do an experiment

• Run around the yard 5 times

• Play tag

• Throw a football

• Have a Nerf gun war

• Play squirt guns

• Write a play

• Make mini parachute guys, throw them from upstairs

• Pretend you are a superhero

• Play Hide and Seek

• Make tracks for Hot Wheels or other cars

• Choreograph a dance

• Create a circus with stuffed animals

• Build a tall Lego tower

• Make a treasure hunt for a sibling

• Blow bubbles

• Dance to loud music together

• Pretend you are a movie or cartoon character for one hour

• Make an insect habitat

• Play a board game

• Play chess

• Read a joke book

• Put on a talent show

• Make up a family concert

• Make a “date” table for Mom and Dad

• Color

• Invent a new game

• Draw a comic strip

• Make popsicle stick puppets

• Do a craft project

• Play a card game

• Run relay races

• Play baseball

• Make lemonade

• Learn magic tricks

• Make up a story

• Have a picnic in the front yard

• Write a movie review

• Find shapes in the clouds

• Look at family pictures

• Play charades

• Make birthday or thank you cards

• Make bracelets

• Make a paper chain for the next holiday

• Measure how tall you are

• Make dinner for the family

• Make an obstacle course

• Camp in the backyard

• Make paper airplanes

• Paint rocks

• Make ice cream

• Toss water balloons

• Write in a secret code

• Play flashlight tag

• Do a puzzle

• Make origami

• Draw with sidewalk chalk

• Learn to juggle

• Do tongue twisters

• Create a family newspaper

• Invent a new holiday

• Build towers with cups

• Record a pretend radio show or podcast

• Learn to whistle or snap your fingers

• Do blindfolded taste tests

• Design a tree fort

• Play store

• Do a scavenger hunt

• Draw a maze

• Make Birthday Cards

• Have a spelling bee

• Make a kite

• Make a hopscotch course

• Sing karaoke

• Jump rope

• Draw a self-portrait

• Make a bookmark

• Make popsicles

• Hand-sew

• Make slime

• Have a backwards day

• Make a domino chain reaction

• Make homemade playdough

• Have a pajama day

You can add any ideas you like to this list, or remove any of mine. Feel free to copy and paste, put it into a Google Doc & make your own list.

Another way to avoid summer boredom is to do year-round school. I know that might sound awful if you’ve never done it before, but it’s really not that bad. Our kids do math year-round, and they’re always reading books.

Let me know what your kids do when they are bored!