I'm Bored!: How to teach your child to entertain themselves

Many of us have fond memories of playing outside for hours at a time, running the neighborhood with friends and neighbor kids, and enjoying large chunks of unstructured play time. If I had told my mom that I was bored, she would have responded with a list of chores to keep me busy.

Despite this upbringing, many of us now find ourselves stuck in a cycle of having to entertain our children every minute they are awake, lest we hear the dreaded words, "I'm bored!" which can feel like a parenting failure at worst and an inconvenient annoyance to be avoided at all costs at least. This course will go over some of the benefits to your child when they have the opportunity to be bored now and again. Additionally, it will highlight similar benefits for the adults when the child is given room to play freely and be "bored". Once we understand why being bored is good for us, we can make a plan to implement entertainment-free time into our days. With seven simple steps, you can slowly and intentionally teach your child to entertain themselves and to play away the boredom that they perceive exists when you are not there to keep them happy and busy.