LET KIDS BE BORED

BEING BORED IS ESSENTIAL FOR CREATIVITY

I remember being bored as a kid. I'd be bored with my toys, bored with TV, bored with books, so I'd complain to my parents, "I'm bored". They'd throw back the typical parent response, 'go find something to do'.
I'd trudge back to my room, lie on my bed and be bored. 
But, a little while later I'd be busy again, drawing or cutting up old hockey cards and creating a new game with them. I'd be outside climbing the tree stringing up rope to catch a bird. Something like that. I'd end up creating something; a game, a picture, an inventive bird catcher (that never really worked). That's what you did when you were bored.

Is that still happening today?

It sounds like not that often. With overscheduled kids, working parents that feel guilty 'doing nothing' on a Saturday, cell phones constantly grabbing their attention...there is just no time to 'get bored'.

But, it turns out being bored is very, very, very good for the brain.

There is more and more evidence coming out making the connection between boredom and creative thinking/brain health. Turns out letting our mind wander, getting bored, zoning out, daydreaming, all those kind of things are very important for the brain.

Another one of those perks of slowing life down or simplifying life. Being 'unproductive' is the new productive!

I read a great article - linking boredom and creativity - urging parents to rebel against our culture of 'being productive' at all times and instead take an alternate route and devote time to your inner self (and appearing to be unproductive). This article does a great job of explaining how the brain reacts to boredom.

I also stumbled across a similar podcast explaining how boredom is NEEDED to make the brain as creative as possible. https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-school-of-greatness/e/51883202


Just something to think about.