Boredom, often seen as a feeling to be avoided at all costs, could be one of the key ingredients to children’s well-being. In an era in which stimuli, games and activities are always ready to satisfy every need, we are often led to believe that to grow up happy and peaceful it is necessary to fill every minute of life. However, the idea that children need to be continually busy may not be entirely correct. If we think about childhood happiness, a little boredom could represent not only a necessity, but a real opportunity for emotional and intellectual development.
Boredom: enemy or ally?
Children need time to be with themselves, without being constantly stimulated. According to a number of studies, time when a child has nothing to do, away from structured activities and digital games, can foster imagination, creativity and autonomy.
If a child is bored, it means he needs time to explore and reflect,” she says Linda Caldwell who has been studying boredom for decades. Boredom gives the opportunity to develop skills problem solving and inventiveness. An important function of boredom is that it allows you to learn what kinds of things you like and what kinds of things you don’t like.
Furthermore, boredom is an opportunity for children to learn to manage their emotions and frustration, skills that are essential for lasting psychological well-being. The ability to be happy even when there is no external stimulus is a sign of good emotional balance. It is precisely in these moments that children can discover new interests or find solutions to their problems independently.
Space for imagination
When children are not invaded by constant stimuli, they are free to create imaginary worlds, stories and situations that can give them moments of profound happiness. Boredom encourages creativity, pushing children to invent games, stories, drawings and even strategies to cope with the absence of stimulation. This type of activity not only helps cognitive development, but also promotes the growth of self-esteem, as the child feels capable of creating and deciding what to do.
Why do children no longer know how to be bored?
Caldwell has observed a real cultural shift in children’s opportunities to shape their own experiences in recent decades. In traditional societies, more and more children are growing up in nurseries, spending more and more time asking adults to shape their time.
Just think about how their time is divided: story time, nap time, exercise time, coloring time, music time etc… There day is divided into blocks of time designed to maximize involvement and reduce boredom.
School-aged children participate in structured adult time all day. Since most parents now work, children often participate in after-school programs that also structure their activities.
When we finally let them take care of themselves after school, is it any wonder they don’t have the skills to find activities they really love? Or who engage in scrolling, video games, or other activities that have greater potential for harm? Or that they don’t really know what they like themselves?
The risk of overstimulation
Modern society, with its screens, advertising and the pressure to do more and more, risks making children lose the opportunity to experience moments of tranquility and reflection. A continuous bombardment of stimuli can also lead to a form of “overstimulation”, which can reduce the ability to concentrate and have independent leisure. In this context, allowing children to get bored, faced with a “break” from organized activities or games, could be an antidote to counteract anxiety and mental fatigue.
Boredom as an educational tool
We must not forget that boredom, if well managed, can also be a powerful educational tool. In many alternative education systems, such as Montessori pedagogy or the philosophy of outdoor education, great importance is given to freedom of exploration. These approaches argue that leaving children free to be bored, without being constantly monitored or stimulated, you help them become more resilient, creative and independent.
The point of balance
We must not fall into the mistake of thinking that children should always be left to their own devices or that boredom should be the only option. Obviously, educational activities and play are essential for development, but it is equally important to leave spaces for reflection, quiet and personal exploration.
Children’s happiness is not only found in moments of maximum fun, but also in their ability to live the “emptiness” peacefully, without feeling forced to fill it immediately. The balance between stimulating activities and moments of boredom is the key to healthy and happy growth.
In a world where entertainment and external pressure are increasingly omnipresent, teaching children that boredom can be an opportunity and not an enemy could not only foster healthier emotional growth, but also help them develop the ability to be happy without the continuous search for external stimuli.
Ultimately, a little boredom can be the key to lasting happiness, which allows children to discover themselves and grow in a balanced way.
For this reason, the scholars concluded, the balance between boredom and opportunity is an excellent area in which parents can focus their ardent desire to help children grow.
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Source: Psychology Today
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