Boredom in Kids: Can it Help Mental Health?

As parents and caregivers, we've all heard it: "I'm boooooored!"

Caregivers often feel pressured to prevent boredom in their children, constantly scheduling activities or turning to screen time, but allowing children to feel bored sometimes can actually be good for their mental health.

What is boredom?

Boredom is a result of our brains not having something to focus on. Depending on the age of your children, they may demand a quick fix to this feeling by asking for someone to entertain them or turning to a screen.

While it’s good for our minds to be active when we’re awake, both kids and adults have become used to constant stimulation. We feel this pressure to have a packed schedule of activities or technology to entertain us at every minute. No matter what we’re doing, we often find ourselves with the television on, scrolling on a device, listening to a podcast or audiobook- anything but just being quiet with our thoughts.

So now, our brains are used to having constant stimulation, and the moment that stops, our brain says, “I’m bored!”

How can boredom be an opportunity?

During times of boredom, when we allow kids to have downtime, the brain is challenged to fix the problem. This makes children more likely to come up with their own solutions and be creative. Problem solving and creativity are both good for kids’ mental health.

Additionally, allowing for downtime and boredom allows us to be more mindful of our thoughts and feelings. Instead of constantly being distracted with activities or technology, children can start to build self-awareness, insight and comfort with their own thoughts and feelings.

How can I add some “good boredom” into my child’s life?

1. Schedule unstructured time into the day. Leave time without any planned activities or screens in your child’s day.
   • You can have a bin of items easily accessible, like art supplies or building materials to steer them in the right direction.
   • You can also encourage them to spend time outside during this time!
2. Be ready to tolerate some frustration. Most kids want someone to provide an activity for them, not realizing that creative play is often more engaging and satisfying. If they complain about being bored, teach them that this is their brain wanting to be more active and encourage them to come up with an idea themselves!
3. Let them make a mess. Within reason, allow them to make a mess and then get them to help clean up afterward. It's worth it to have their brains active and engaged.
4. Praise them. If you find them engaged in something new or different, let them know how proud you are of them. When they are done with that activity, ask them to describe how they came up with the idea or what they were doing. Let them know their imagination and creativity is something you value.

How much boredom is too much?

While letting kids feel bored for a short period of time is great for creativity, problem solving and mindfulness, we don’t want children to have low activity for long periods of time. We know that engaging in fun and pleasant activities is important to decreasing the risk for things like depression and anxiety.

If a child in your life rarely seems interested in the world around them, or seems bored when others around them are active (like during a sport or class activity), take the time to ask them about how they’re feeling. If the problem continues over time, you may want to talk with their teacher, school counselor or pediatrician.