‘I'm bored!'

Be excited because...

1. It's an opportunity for children to access imagination and is a time when they can develop both sides of their brain simultaneously.

2. This provides perfect moments to understand what makes your child tick

3. There is a chance to grow independence in children which should always be embraced

4. Problem solving and finding solutions is a beautiful skill to learn early in life

Being bored is the beginning of new and creative ideas. Our children’s brains need time to process and to grow in creativity so continually filling whole days with activities can be detrimental to fullest brain development

Of course there are some times when this needs to be directed and here is what we can do

On hearing this plaintive cry we can reply with, ‘Oh you want to find something interesting to do.’

There are only 3 things which employ both sides of the brain simultaneously so if there is a choice, one of these would be ideal:

music making:

eg, pots and pans

sport:

eg, foam balls and buckets

play:

eg, cardboard tubes and marbles/cars

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If you child is not used to playing on their own then you can:

Model how to do this

Be present for the duration initially

Repeat any questions back to them when they ask for help

Describe what they are doing during the play.

Incrementally increase removal of yourself for small periods of time

Praise from afar