The Blessing of Boredom

Are your kids are complaining they're bored? Good. Don't fix it.

Boredom is where creativity lives. It's where imagination grows. It's where children learn to entertain themselves instead of demanding to be entertained every waking minute.

We've raised a generation of kids who can't sit in a car for twenty minutes without a screen in their face. Who can't make it through a church service without a snack and a coloring book. Who melt down if they're not constantly stimulated.

And then we wonder why they have no attention span. Why they can't work independently. Why they expect life to constantly entertain them.

When your child says "I'm bored," they're not presenting you with a problem that you need to solve. They're standing at the door of their own opportunity. They can build something. They can read something. They can create something. Or they can just sit and think—which, by the way, is OK...and sitting and thinking really is a lost skill.

Entertainment creates consumers. Boredom creates creators.

So the next time you hear "I'm bored," try this: "Good. Go figure out something to do." Then walk away.

Your kids don't need another activity. They need space to become resourceful.

...amen...Amen...and AMEN!