Unlocking the Genius of Boredom

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Boredom can herald the edge of genius for you and your children. It comes with pain like the scratches you had after you
finally climbed the big tree in the yard, or the giant mess after your unstable Lego tower fell, right before you figured out how
to build a bigger and better one. The problem is that so many children these days are unfamiliar with it. When boredom
looms on the horizon young people have no framework to understand what this uncomfortable thing is and what it can be
used for. Many experts agree that properly managed boredom leads to a variety of benefits.

Creativity: Want to jump start new ideas? Try blanking out the mind’s canvas for a while. A desert of ideas leads to the birth
of new ones. Even children can become dullards if they are faced with sheet upon sheet of filling in the blanks day after day.
Allowing the mind a time for quiet doesn’t make it slow down or sleep. The mind is always seeking stimulation, so if the
environment isn’t providing it, the mind will provide its own. We know from studying people who are put or put themselves in
situations where the brain lacks stimulation, like a sensory deprivation chamber, that the brain takes a black abyss and fills it
with it’s own ideas. (10) Black abysses are typically pretty intimidating at first. We have heard enough stories about things
lurking in the dark  to put us off from such situations. Once we take those first uncomfortable steps in, however we can start
to see things in a way that is disconnected from our day to day reality. One study found that people confronted with a boring
task were able to come up with more novel solutions to a creative problem than people who hadn’t been previously bored. (1)
Other studies have come to similar conclusions, citing the brain’s longing for input. When that input isn’t forthcoming our minds
have their own tricks to get us moving, and some may surprise us.(2)

Self-knowledge:

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Expectations for young students are fairly straight-forward: do well in school,  obey your parents. Once you check those boxes you are doing as well as anyone else, but you are also just like everyone else. How can you get to know how you differ from every other kid your age in the world? (3) You can see your differences by standing back. Detach from the chains of the mundane and see what else tugs at you. (4) Does your child hop out to nature in their down time? Does the quiet of a blank notebook page and pen call their name? Until you can have a moment to get to know who you are it can be hard to hold your own against a wave of uniformity. (5) Adults can have a tendency to use constant noise to edge out nagging feelings of guilt or regret. The noise keeps us distracted from issues we should work through rather than avoid. For children the noise can actually keep them from getting to know who they are to begin with. They haven’t had time for many regrets, but if they don’t know what they would turn a box into they may never understand how much a cardboard fashion runway brings them joy, or that demolition is really where it’s at. A solid path through check boxes of academic achievement can be a good thing, but unstructured time may unlock some vital skills that could be nurtured to make your kid an amazing success.  

Confidence/character: Bringing something to life out of very little can allow children to feel capable. They can own the art

piece they made from recyclables, or the village that erupted out of boxes. Nothing feels sweeter than coming from an
uncomfortable place and finding yourself the victor over your discomfort, but the discomfort needs to come first. Everyone
involved from parents to kids may find themselves poked by the jutting barbs of boredom before there is any resolution.
But the next time there is nothing to do, the memory of past victories over nothingness may be enough to decrease the time
between whining and making amazing creations or having neat adventures. (6)

Improves psychological health:  One study found that boredom can help life seem more

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meaningful.(7) After spending time doing nothing you may place extra value on the stimulation that comes your way. Boredom can also be a healing opposite to the stress over scheduling can bring a child. (8) Children may not know what it is needed when they are suffering through the first moments of realizing they are out of the bounds of a structured schedule, but it is a vitamin they will benefit from in the end. There has even been a study that shows boredom can stem directly from stress. (9) The solution in this case can come from facing the situation and finding a viable solution rather than being overwhelmed by the situation. Calm and rational thought wins the day against boredom, but this needs to be developed over time by facing stress and lack of activity and working through the discomfort they bring. 

Tips for making boredom work

The hardest part of boredom, for the children and the parents almost equally, are the first minutes (though they feel much
longer). This is not terribly different from the first time enforcing a consequence or the first bite of that gross looking, but
really tasty casserole. You and your child need to get past the initial gag reflex of a potential lack of stimulation. Here are
some tips to keep in mind as you venture forth.

1. Be in the right environment

A certain amount of thought needs to be put into where the boredom will take place.

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Allowing a child to be bored at a doctor appointment is a completely different scenario from allowing a child to be bored in a backyard surrounded by trees, maybe some playground balls and the possible rolly polly or caterpillar. Similar to the way things must be constructed out of something rather than nothing, creativity needs something to stick itself to. In the way a child faced with a church service’s worth of silence can fall victim to obsessive leg swinging, you won’t get the most beneficial result from boredom if there are strict parameters on behavior. (11) The best boredom occurs where bodies have room to move, and words, stories, even plays can be spoken. 

2. Have Some Supplies

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Now, you don’t need top notch art supplies delivered to your door for boredom to become fertile soil for creativity. (12) Boredom can transform recycling into art, cardboard into houses or protest signs (if you don’t mind allowing your kids to air their grievances in a time honored way and also teach about democracy) or old electronics into tiny bits of old electronics (you might want a tarp and goggles handy for that one). (13) As one gets better at manipulating boredom you will need fewer raw materials to start from. Boredom is a safer explosion of genius if the explosion can be contained on construction paper, glue sticks and gems rather than the wall or the table itself taking on the brunt of the force.

3. Offer Some Guidance

Print this cute list here

There is a fine line between instituting a schedule full of creative endeavours and allowing children to take the reins of their free time. Boredom does come with the expectation of being child-led, but if there was one exception to that rule it would come when your deer is staring into headlights. Don’t let your child suffer if they don’t know which way to turn. (14)   Once you have some supplies on hand you may want to consider printing out a list of suggestions involving those supplies. (15) How often have we as adults thought, “If only I had a little more time I would love to…” only to find when an empty hour hits us we blank on all those ingenious plans. A list of things we know our child has enjoyed in the past may spark their memory and inspire them. Generic lists are also available if you want some new ideas.

 
Empty time can be a treasure trove if we learn how to manage it. Don’t be afraid to let the batteries die on the tablet and face the quiet of the unknown. Educational stimulation should sometimes take a backseat to allowing the creativity of your child to fully shine through. 

Sources

1. Ducharme, Jamie. "Being Bored Can Be Good for You—If You Do It Right. Here’s How." time.com, 4 Jan. 2019, time.com/5480002/benefits-of-boredom/.
2. Rosenfeld, Jordan. "Kicked my smartphone addiction by retraining my brain to enjoy being bored." qz.com, 4 July 2017, qz.com/1020976/the-scientific-link-between-boredom-and-creativity/.
3. Colier, Nancy. "Can I Let My Child Be Bored?" Psychology Today, 23 Jan. 2018, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inviting-monkey-tea/201801/can-i-let-my-child-be-bored.
4. Hill, Denise. "Children Develop Better When You Let Them Be Bored, Psychologists Say." lifehack.org, www.lifehack.org/419154/children-develop-better-when-you-let-them-be-bored-psychologists-say.
5. Lapointe, Vanessa. "Why You Should Do Nothing When Your Child Says, "I'm Bored"." huffpost.com, 2 May 2016, www.huffpost.com/entry/why-you-should-do-nothing_b_9818144.
6. "Why boredom is good for your child." theschoolrun.com, www.theschoolrun.com/benefits-of-boredom-for-kids.
7. "5 Ways Boredom Makes Your Kid More Awesome." Parent.com, 16 Feb. 2017, www.parent.com/5-surprising-benefits-of-letting-your-children-get-bored/.
8. "How to handle a bored child." korukids.co.uk, www.korukids.co.uk/blog/after-school/how-to-handle-a-bored-child/.
9. Sparks, Sarah D. "Studies Link Students' Boredom to Stress." edweek.org, 9 Oct. 2012, www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/10/10/07boredom_ep.h32.html.
10. Cooper, Belle B. "The Power of Shutting Down Your Senses: How to Boost Your Creativity and Have a Clear Mind." buffer.com, 22 Mar. 2016, buffer.com/resources/the-power-of-shutting-down-your-senses-how-to-boost-your-creativity-and-have-a-clear-mind.
11. Minkel, Justin. "4 Things Teachers Shouldn't Be Asking Their Students to Do." edweek.org, 8 Apr. 2019, www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2019/04/08/4-things-teachers-shouldnt-be-asking-their.html.
12. Markham, Laura. "Handling Boredom: Why It's Good for Your Child." ahaparenting.com, 2020, www.ahaparenting.com/parenting-tools/intelligent-creative-child/boredom-busters-good-for-kids.
13. Scheinbaum, Chase. "The Importance of Letting Your Kids Be Bored." fatherly.com, 9 July 2019, www.fatherly.com/parenting/the-importance-of-boredom-and-letting-your-kids-be-bored/.
14. Kovelle, Kim. "Boredom is OK! Here are 13 Ways to Help Your Kids Embrace It." metroparent.com, 25 Mar. 2020, www.metroparent.com/daily/parenting/parenting-issues-tips/boredom-is-ok-for-kids/.
15. Allain, Rhett. "It’s Tougher to Be Bored Than Ever Before. And That’s No Good." wired.com, 9 June 2016, www.wired.com/2016/06/its-ok-to-be-bored/.