Thursday, June 12, 2025
It’s not long after school is out that parents start hearing the dreaded words…
“I’m bored!”
For some reason, once summer shows up, our kid's ability to be entertained for longer than five minutes at a time leaves. And something is different about us parents during summer break, too. In our minds, summer is an ethereal time—sand, sun, pools, breezes—filled with memories of late nights, lightning bugs, and laughter.
But in reality, summer can feel like a circus act—with you, on a unicycle, balancing your own responsibilities on your forehead while simultaneously juggling your kids’ wants and needs like balls of fire.
Want to know a secret?
It’s not your job to save your kid from boredom. It’s not! It’s also not your job to entertain your kid. It is your job to love your kid…and sometimes, the most loving thing you can do is let them be bored so their creativity can flourish.
So, if you find yourself staring into the eyes of a bored kid this summer, here are some ways you can respond:
Kid: “I’M BORED!”
Parent: “If you wait until [your next free time] o’clock, I’ll hang out with you. Until then, you need to figure out something to do on your own.”
Kid: “I’M BORED!”
Parent: “Have you checked the chore chart? Here are three things you can do to help our family.”
Kid: “I’M BORED!”
Parent: “Go outside for the next hour. Exercise, count the cars that drive by, find shapes in the clouds, take a walk, sit on the porch.”
Kid: “I’M BORED!”
Parent: “Have you read a book lately? Go read (or look at pictures) for the next 30 minutes. Then, I want to hear what you read/saw.”
Kid: “I’M BORED!”
Parent: “Go and do three kind and/or generous things for other people. Then, come back and tell me what you did and how it went.”
Kid: “I’M BORED!”
Parent: [Silence.] *Shrug* “I look forward to hearing what you come up with to become un-bored!”
Summer boredom can be a daily battle…but it’s a battle worth fighting to ensure your kid learns how to enjoy their own company and look inward to ignite their creativity.