Top Things to Do When Bored?
Boredom is highly frustrating!
And for parents, it can be difficult to handle their child’s persistent complaint, ‘I am bored what to do?’
Planning boredom-busting activities is highly tasking for many of us. Because all of us can’t be creative and innovative with these all the time!
If you have ever struggled planning for things to do when bored, this article IS JUST MEANT FOR YOU!
Today we will decode the reasons for boredom, and check some signs to identify this state of mind. And also discuss some fun activities to do with kids.
Read on for all this and much more!
But first, let’s start with the definition and reasons.
How Can We Define Boredom?
Boredom is the state of getting bored that leads to being unhappy and uninterested. In our day-to-day lives, we associate boredom with sitting idle, lack of variation in a particular task, or lack of interest due to a mundane repetition.
For adults like us, boredom can be easy to label or identify. However, this is not the case with kids. At times, our kids misidentify this sense of boredom and mix it with sadness. This complicates the planning process for adults. Because they get confused and look for ways to lift the child’s mood. In reality, a child needs emotional intelligence to label the emotion correctly for the adults to help him/her out.
Do you know that an eminent psychologist, Dan Siegel coined the term ‘Name it to tame it’ to explain the importance of teaching kids how to identify and label all emotions correctly?
Once your child knows how to distinguish between boredom and sadness, it’s time to take the next step. And plan the ways to beat this state of mind.
In our next section, we will discuss the reasons for getting bored.
Why Do Different Kids Have Varied Reasons for Getting Bored
We all know about individual differences and how they affect us.
Let me begin with some facts about individual differences!
Do you know that there numerous factors determine our personality differences?
In kids the most prominent factors that contribute to these differences are
- Age
- Gender
- Individual susceptibility
- Environment etc.
Because of these differences, all kids have different reasons to say that they are bored what to do?
Let’s break down further.
Why Kids Get Bored?
At times, kids feel demotivated and bored if they find a task too difficult for them. Similarly, it can be the opposite, that they find something too easy i.e. not challenging enough for them. There can be more reasons such as faulty instructions, difficulty in adjusting to an environment (or educational pedagogy in a traditional/ online school. Other than these reasons, some children can also lose interest in a particular activity because of negative experiences like bullying/harassment, etc.
If you have ever mistaken bullying or school violence as overrated terms, here’s a quick reality check!
By the year 2023, 50 to 60% of our Indian students still face problems like bullying. But only 24% of the parents were reportedly aware of this issue faced by the child (in school, play area, locality, or at home).
Common forms of bullying in India:
In school, many outspoken kids get bored and they ask others about the things to do when you are bored?
But some introverted kids get frustrated and they do not know how to kill their time productively. Let’s understand the signs of boredom now.
How Do You Know When Your Child is Bored?
The most common signs of boredom are yawning, looking around in disinterest, crying, tantrums, irritation, restlessness, and lack of focus, etc. Other than these signs, simple complaints like I’m bored also show the same state of mind.
Many times, kids are worried about boredom things to do in school. In fact, a related study came up with an astonishing fact that children can get bored in a mathematics class for almost 1/3rd of the total time. After all this eye-opening information, I suggest you should consider boredom as a real thing. And if your child asks someone, what to do when you are bored?
Consider this as a serious thing!
Before we move on to the things to do when bored, here’s a quick tip to know if your child is bored. Experts suggest that the signs of boredom appear either through lethargy or through agitation. The former is related to tiredness and the latter has more to do with the signs/ expression of irritation.
Activities to Do When a Kid is Getting Bored
Open Air Activities
In the hustle-bustle of our everyday lives, many of us are underestimating the benefits of outdoor play for kids. I am sure you agree that we can teach our kids about the importance of conserving natural resources, and tell them about the related threats better when they are exposed to outdoor surroundings. So the next time your child says, I am bored what should I do? consider this statement as an opportunity for outdoor activities.
Get your kids moving outdoors to beat boredom. And the best part is that it will also help them to reduce their screen time as well. Simple activities like cycling, kite flying, finding hidden objects, bird watching, nature walks, etc. can be magical ways of beating boredom at home. So encourage more and more physical activities for sound health.
Do you know that the World Health Organization (WHO) has defined duration for physical activity according to age group?
Here’s a look!
So the next time you ponder about the things to do when bored, remember these targets and get going!
Reading
This might sound quite the old-school type, but trust me nothing can beat the mesmerizing world of books. Book reading is easily the best answer to your child‘s question, ‘I am bored what should I do?’. And it can offer a host of advantages that you might have never imagined.
Get your kid some great books (bestsellers) across various genres. Amalgamate this activity with note-taking for new words and later you can also organize a weekly quiz to see how much the child recalls. Do this for new words, story morals, and even for identifying new writing styles (for older age groups). Mix it with a touch of reinforcement. And see how it beats boredom in no time!
< If you want to know the benefits of reading kindly refer to this blog:- Benefits of Reading Books That You Never Discovered >
Chores
Another great way of addressing the expression, of boredom things to do is to get your kid in a habit of contributing to everyday chores. In India, we seldom realize the benefits of teaching our kids these chores. Let me take you through some of these proven benefits:
As per Forbes, there are many advantages of kids doing household chores at home:
- Sense of belongingness and responsibility
- Essential skills such as collaboration
- Sets routines that give a sense of time management
Some More Facts
With gen Z or the digital native generation now, the trend of mentoring kids has also changed drastically.
A survey shows that 90% of the parents accepted that they did chores as children. But only 66% of them have their kids to do this type of work regularly at home. It is true that our kids have their own burden of attending school, and tuition throughout the day. However, there is always some scope for improving situations. And luckily, flexible alternatives like an online school are already available for our kids. It’s time we realize that by teaching these chores we are not just telling our kids what to do when you are bored. In fact, this is also a real-world training for their survival across all happy and rough phases of human life.
Indoor Fun
The best respite for getting bored is right at home. Fireless cooking, kitchen scrap gardening, baking, clay, classic board games, mock letter writing, and virtual tours are highly fun. And have great educational value as well. Try all these old and new ways of having fun at home. And get ready to bid goodbye to boredom instantly.
Get Moving
If you want some easy and impromptu things to do when you are bored, try out a random dance party. Your favorite playlist and a handy speaker are just good to go. Enjoy the beat with your kid and do not hesitate to act weird or humorous to make it even more fun. All this is great to lift the gloomy mood to a happy one.
Before we wrap up this write-up, let’s take you through some quick tips as well.
Quick Tips to Plan Boredom Busters
- Always plan activities/tasks/chores that are age-appropriate.
- Prioritize your kid’s safety at all times, for instance, do not allow fruit/vegetable chopping if the child is very young.
- Be mindful of your choices, and assign tasks only as per your availability to supervise the kid.
- Do not leave the child without any vigilance for instance under the supervision of a house help if he/she has a new tool/prop.
- Try to observe the child after the task/activity. If you feel it is not serving the purpose while getting bored be open to change it.
Final Thoughts
For many parents, a common complaint bored what to do is highly nightmarish. It can be demanding to break the monotony with innovation each time. But again, it’s not impossible, if we know how to create more productive options for our kids throughout the day.
We hope we have made the process easier for you. Go ahead and unleash your creative side to make your child’s idle time highly memorable!
Thanks for reading!
Frequently Asked Questions
- What should I do when a child say “I am bored”?
You can plan creative activities/tasks or simply align your kids to help with household work. Try to use variation and keep these strictly as per the child’s age and interests.
- What are some things to do when kids get bored at home?
Dancing, homemade snack parties, indoor games, park visits, etc. are ideal for engaging kids when they are getting bored.
- What are some things to do when kids get bored at school?
Getting kids into more impromptu physical activities like games (Simon says, sit and stand, etc.), reinforcement strategies, and challenging kids with more creative pedagogies helps to reduce this challenge.
Must Read
- Best Hobbies for Students to Boost Their Mental Health
- The Best Daily Routine of Student to Boost Productivity
- Benefits of Reading Books That You Never Discovered
- Preschooler Age: Is Your Child Ready for Preschool
- What is the Role of Computer in Education?
- Good Touch Bad Touch How to Tell Your Kids the Difference
- Reading Skill: What is It and How to Build Reading Skills?
- Online Education: What is it & How Does it Work in 2023
- Guide to Finding the Perfect Online Home schooling in India
