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I immediately thought of Edayna's thread about Parenting Guilt when I got this newsletter in my email today. It's from the Love and Logic site http://www.loveandlogic.com/
Thought I'd share it here -- though I'm probably preaching to the choir!
Pony!
Boredom
Ah, the sounds of summer! Birds chirping, the sound of the ice cream truck, and kids moaning, "I'm bored! There's nothing to do."
Despite popular kid opinion, boredom is essential for the development of healthy problem-solving skills and creativity. Can you imagine the world today if Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford had never experienced it?
Some parents make the mistake of spending the entire summer making sure that their children are always entertained. In the process, they steal wonderful opportunities for their kids to learn creative ways to entertain themselves. They also create kids who selfishly believe that everything should be entertaining all of the time.
Wiser parents hand the boredom problem right back to their kids by responding, "That's a bummer, what do you think you are going to do?"
When their children answer, "I don't know," they simply give some suggestions and allow responsibility for solving the problem to rest on their youngsters' shoulders: "Some kids decide to draw pictures. How will that work? Other kids decide to build something out of wood. Others decide that they are going to do some reading. Good luck."
If their children continue to complain, they pat them on the back and say, "When kids keep complaining that they are bored, it means that their parents aren't giving them enough chores. There's a broom right over there."
Thanks for reading.
Dr. Charles Fay
Thought I'd share it here -- though I'm probably preaching to the choir!
Pony!
Boredom
Ah, the sounds of summer! Birds chirping, the sound of the ice cream truck, and kids moaning, "I'm bored! There's nothing to do."
Despite popular kid opinion, boredom is essential for the development of healthy problem-solving skills and creativity. Can you imagine the world today if Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford had never experienced it?
Some parents make the mistake of spending the entire summer making sure that their children are always entertained. In the process, they steal wonderful opportunities for their kids to learn creative ways to entertain themselves. They also create kids who selfishly believe that everything should be entertaining all of the time.
Wiser parents hand the boredom problem right back to their kids by responding, "That's a bummer, what do you think you are going to do?"
When their children answer, "I don't know," they simply give some suggestions and allow responsibility for solving the problem to rest on their youngsters' shoulders: "Some kids decide to draw pictures. How will that work? Other kids decide to build something out of wood. Others decide that they are going to do some reading. Good luck."
If their children continue to complain, they pat them on the back and say, "When kids keep complaining that they are bored, it means that their parents aren't giving them enough chores. There's a broom right over there."
Thanks for reading.
Dr. Charles Fay