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b?edom lets them get used to alone time boredom allows
child
ren
to become comfortable with being alone with their thoughts.
child
and adolescent psychiatrist dr. megan ?ompson says, ?i have found in my practice that parents will have their
child
ren
engaged in numerous activities in an effort to shape them into well-rounded individuals and provide them with stimulating lives. while this may be well-intended, when
child
ren
do not have time to themselves to sit with their own thoughts, it can become so uncomfortable to them that they don?t know how to not be busy. as they mature and enter college and adulthood, when they do have down- time or alone time, it often becomes anxiety provoking, so they may even continue to keep an overly busy schedule to avoid this.? b?edom removes the tether to technology
child
ren
today are so used to ?screen entertainment? from cell phones and ipads to telev isions and v ideo games, that they are rarely presented w ith the opportunity to ex perience boredom. mental health therapist johanna martinez-r ink says, ?i think it is so important to allow
child
ren
to find ways to entertain themselves such as going outside, draw ing, and reading, instead of us tr y ing to fill that boredom w ith toys or technolog y.? we empower our
child
ren
by giv ing them the space to develop emotional self-control by letting go of our ow n feelings that we need to keep them constantly entertained. r ink also offers this important reminder, ?lead by example. tr y not to constantly check emails, texts, and social media. if you can?t put your ow n phone dow n at the risk of feeling mentally bored or not stimulated, then that is a problem. it may be challenging for us as parents, but we have to be aware of our ow n behav iors and the example that they are setting for our
child
ren
.? b?edom ?eeds imagination denham springs mom jeanne belleau bordelon says the most frustrating part of planning
summer
s as a parent is that, ?we work so hard to plan activities, and we put so much of a burden on ourselves as parents, but then we lose sight of what the original goal was in the first place?to make
summer
fun. when that happens, ultimately, the kids are worn out. i?ve learned that when you give them more unstructured time, this enables them to use their imaginations.? one suggestion to help parents let go, and put the responsibility back on your
child
, is to sit down with them at the beginning of the
summer
and make a list of all the things they want to do this
summer
. ?is list can include basic items like reading a book or riding a bike, but could also include more ?creative? ideas like writing a poem or planning a scavenger hunt. put this list somewhere handy, and when your
child
has nothing to do, send him back to this list of ideas. dr. t hompson says these creative moments inspired by boredom w ill become your
child
?s most treasured
summer
memories. she says, ?i can recall a
child
telling me last year that his favorite part of the
summer
was the week that he did not have any camps and he ended up building a fort in his backyard w ith various household items. t he smile on his face when he described this scene was amazing, and you could tell how proud he was of himself.? b?edom helps
child
ren
find out who they are w hen we provide our
child
this space of unstructured time, he will gravitate to his own interests. ask any adult to recall their
child
hood. writers may recall keeping diaries or books of poetry, and musicians may remember putting on ?concerts? for their families. your
child
ren
may not realize it at the time, but this downtime is beneficial to helping them find their identities. dr. thompson recalls an adolescent who started a small dog- walking business among neighbors last
summer
, and now he is brainstorming new entrepreneurial ideas for this
summer
, and is already thinking about studying business in college, which is several years ahead of him. this time gives
child
ren
the freedom to explore and to be themselves, and helps them find their places in the world. maybe this reminder can apply to all of us. give yourself permission to slow down with your kids and do nothing from time to time. and if you hear the phrase, ?i?m bored,? remember that boredom comes just before the magic of
summer
happens. ? j u l y 2 0 1 7 | b r p a r e n t s . c o m 3 3
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