I told my 6yo something similar – that “Boredom is the mother of creativity” and he didn’t seem to get it But I will keep trying.

When the boys tell me they are bored, I tell the to go make something & that boredom spurs creativity. If they say they don’t know what, my summer response is to go build something, go read something, go to craft something. Out of this boredom, they have used 20+ rolls of tape, 4 bottles of glue,& reused our recycling into artistic creations of boredom. They’ve built lego machines, read a zillion books, played board games…

The first thing I say is bored is not a feeling. Then, my go to activities are: reading, walking/biking,crafting, cooking, or cleaning. They usually pick crafts or swimming. Sometimes it just means they want my attention so, I try to encourage them to be more detailed about their needs. They need examples of different activities to choose from. Also, we like quiet time from activities which, can be hard to explain to a five year old but necessary too. Hope everyone is having a slow summer

Alas, my parents used to say, “I”ll give you something to whine about!” Amazingly, I can’t remember my kid ever whining about boredom. She is a creative powerhouse, who, when finding time on her hands, goes right to our amply stocked art and craft shelves and lets her juices flow. She makes dolls, doll clothes, visual art, and writes plays, stories, and novels. She is bored less often than I am.

When my kids tell me they are bored, I just ask them what can then do to stop feeling bored. Sometimes I have to give them some ideas to choose from. Sometimes a box of blocks and a question “What can you build from these?” do the trick.

At the peak of my childhood I remember crying I was bored one hot Texas afternoon. I’m sure it wasn’t that I was actually bored but after attending a postponed classroom field trip to the movie theatre, I probably was just sad to see the fun end. My parents were active duty then and my mom was “the strict one” so after the second “I’m bored” she told me to go “experiment,” ask myself a question and find the answer on my own. Ha telling that to a child was really punishment within itself but was the best thing she could have done for the upcoming school session. That day on, I took an interest into model cars and learned how to build a one equipped with hydraulics. It definitely paid off as I earned a well-deserved A+ on my science project that fall. Not only did I get bragging rights to throw in the faces of the self proclaimed car expert boys in the class, my mom laid the foundation to how I would spend my downtime for years to come! Even with the downtime I have now I’ve managed to schedule doc appointments, breastfeed Baby M, catch up on the Olympics and sneak in some free time to surf the web!

I think I need this book! When my almost-5-year old starts whining about being bored, and I can’t stop to play with her, all of my suggestions are ignored in favour of a DVD. Not good.

I remember my mum sending me out to “find something red” or spiky or whatever in the garden and then come and tell her about it, but once I was 8 or so I always ended up in a book.

Some more sociable options would be great.

On “quiet Sundays” when no t.v. was allowed, mand my sister and I whined that we didn’t have anything to do, my dad would say, “only boring people get bored”, and since my sister and I certainly didn’t want to be “boring”, we would hurry up and find something to do. We spent hours dreaming up stories involving “the littles”, creating a club with the neighborhood kids, and more. I’m still grateful that we were encouraged to keep ourselves busy. We had some fun times on those Sunday afternoons!

My typical response is to tell them to clean something. I suppose I should get a little more creative with the options that I offer up, but they are messy creatures! And they hate cleaning so usually they end up finding something more creative on their own to fill their time.

Actually, I almost never remember being bored as a kid. My parents report that I was very good at entertaining myself even as an infant.

My own child, however, claims boredom all the time. One very effective means to put an end to that and get her to find something to do is for me to look around the room at the massive amounts of toys and books she has, put a box in the middle of the room, and say, “Well, since you can’t find anything to do you must be tired of all this stuff, which means we don’t need it. Why don’t you start putting things to get rid of in this box? That should keep you busy for a while.”

So far she hasn’t taken me up on filling the box (though we do go through things to cull together periodically), but she stops whining about being bored & finds something to entertain herself in about 2 minutes flat.

My mother would tell me, “Boring is as Boring does.” What does that mean? I still don’t know. I will say that since having children I have never been bored. What does that feel like, again? Maybe I should ask the kids.

Rats! I’m a thousand miles from home, visiting my parents, so I just asked my mom what she would say when we were bored or said there was nothing to do…she says we never said that!!! A testament to her excellent parenting, perhaps?

I haven’t hit this yet with my kids but at some point, tired of the boredom lament, my mom suggested I make a list of things I liked to do. I was probably about 9, maybe younger, and the list was up on my wall for years. I remember going to consult when I just really really didn’t know what to do with myself. That ratty old list turned up again a few years ago, and was a blast to read–turns out all the things I liked then are the things I like now–reading, walking, writing letters, working on my fashion book…well, maybe not that one anymore….

They are only three and five, but I tell them if they don’t find something to do, I will…which is what I was told. And, they do!

When my two kids say the words “we’re bored” my reply is ‘go outside’ – how can you be bored outside?

I tell my kids to go have an adventure outside. There is nothing more fun for 2 boys than sticks and trees to get them to use their imagination and get engaged with nature. I tell them that is what the pioneer kids did and it seems to work!

Katherine, this book is really made for adults! And I can totally see how your gal would not even know the meaning of the word bored.

Sylvia, that is beautiful! ANd what a great treasure to find all these years later. I think I’ll have my kids do that too!

My mom would just go to her room and close the door, so cries of boredom fell on deaf ears. I started making stuff very early on to entertain myself. Many toys were sacrificed, piece by piece, for a greater joy. My kids are getting to the point where they are more independent makers, so I encourage them with lots of supplies, but sometimes I run out of steam. This book seems really encouraging.

My kids are both pretty social animals and their boredom is usually a lack of connection rather than a lack of activity. I often invite them into what I’m doing, or negotiate when we can do something together. When I was a kid I remember reading Make and Do when I was bored. I’d always come away feeling inspired to do something, even if it wasn’t in the book.

When my 6 y.o. is bored I suggest she read a book, color or get a game to play. These seem obvious to me, but seems she gets in ruts and “forgets” the simple things. New ideas would be helpful though. I think my parents usually told me to go outside and play when I said I was bored which was not appealing in the 100+ degree summer temps.

When one of my three kids announce boredom, I usually reply with an excited voice saying “Good! That means that you are almost there!” meaning that most of our greatest thoughts come from clear minds. I’m not sure if they understand me at all on this point or not, but that doesn’t really matter. Afterwards, I typically get a strange look and a kid who then wanders off to figure it all out.

We have two quotes we use…

“Only boring children are bored.”

“You are responsible for making your own fun.”

However, my best idea for beating boredom is I set a random toy/game on the table from time to time. Eventually after walking by it so many times they will start playing with it…which they probably would never had if it was stuck on the toy/game shelf!

Even though I would not consider myself a very creative person, I don’t remember being bored often as a child. The usual suggestion would be go outside or read, both of which I love to do. My children can’t read yet, but sometimes I’ll suggest reading to them, “doing art” or going outside -there is always something to do outside!

This looks like a great book!
My mom always told me to draw a picture + write a letter to one of my grandparents.

SO I am having a hard time telling you something my parents would tell me that has not already been said. But I will tell you that when I said i was going to run away one time, my dad said ” why run , why not just walk?”
When we were at a restaurant and I got up to use the restroom my dad would say “mention my name and yull get a good seat”

I can’t WAIT to get this book!! I have one kid who never says she’s bored – can play by herself for hours with nothing! And one who- let’s just sufice it to say- I have used the “only boring people get bored” line many times with him. Thankfully he likes to read so… That’s what he usually does. A good friend said her Mom used to give them chores when they said they were bored- i might try that next time- ha! Been enjoying reading your slow family blog posts- you guys have so much fun!

“Build something” is my reply to “I’m bored”…gathering the materials is half the fun

My mom told me that if I couldn’t find anything to do (and TV wasn’t an option), then I must have some trouble with my eyesight and we ought to get it checked. She could see all sorts of games, art supplies, toys, even a pool(!!!) in our back yard. I’d scuttle away disgruntled and to find myself later enthralled in an elaborate drama between myself, the hairbrush and maybe some stuffed animals or barbies.

Haha! When I was a child on our farm & would ask what there was to do my mom’s exasperated response was always the same:
“You have 4 siblings, 40 acres, dozens of books and countless animals – if you can’t find something to do I will find something for you!”.
Worked every time.

This was never a real issue growing up, we would leave and come back home for meals.

But my mom’s favorite saying during the summer, “Out or In, pick one or the other.”

Here were my mom’s greatest hits:
1. Ride your bike to the library.
2. Hmm, here’s a bunch of mismatched socks, what do they want to be?
3. Crochet hook + Granny squares
4. Joy of Cooking’s chocolate chip cookie recipe
5. Start thinking about your Halloween costume… (always, by August!)

Mom was a teacher, so summers off were our prime time. We had a Supply Closet, instead of the linens it held art supplies & lots of random-make-something stuff to use at will. Also, every afternoon we spent a couple hours at the pool.

She’s good!

When my kids say they’re bored, I say, “Good!” I’m hoping they’ll dig deeper and connect with what’s in front of them. When we’re busy, we’re often carrying out the desires of others. When we’re bored, we find our own.

I was usually told to go watch TV. And did after a while. My kids get told that we have 6 acres, books, and a million Legos. Or they can help me clean something. Guess what they pick?

“Let’s go outside.”

When I can see my five year old daughters need a little pick-me-up, I suggest we go out for a walk to see what’s going on around us. Sometimes the thrill of putting on rain boots and a rain coat or a heavy coat and gloves is just enough…while other times seeing a neighbor or looking at the scenery does the trick.

I was always an avid reader so I always went to a book. I see that in my own daughter, she is only 4, so everything is an adventure right now and rarely gets bored, but that usually involves pulling everything out and on the floor.