LOVE AND LOGIC TIP
Encourage Your Kids To Entertain Themselves
Many children spend their first few years of life being entertained by electronic devices, television, and exciting toys with batteries. These kids often lack critical skills for success in school. That’s the bottom line. Children who spend their early years playing in the sandbox, coloring with crayons, chasing butterflies, and stomping around in mud puddles have been given a great gift. The skills they develop through these simple, yet important activities foster success from preschool through graduate school. That’s the good news.
Unfortunately, too many loving, intelligent, and well-meaning parents fall into the trap of believing that “good parents” keep their children entertained and stimulated every moment of the day. When they see their children getting “bored,” they quickly intervene with an electronic device or a fun activity. As a result, their youngsters spend way too much time pushing the buttons on exciting electronic toys, staring at screens, and riding in the car from one activity to another. Sadly, little or no time is left over for running, playing, and being creative. Children who’ve been constantly entertained grow into adults who are constantly bored.
Love and Logic parents give their kids an advantage in life by understanding that children need plenty of opportunities to find themselves in a rather dull or “boring” situation. Why? Because these situations encourage youngsters to develop and practice creative ways of entertaining themselves—and exploring the vast and exciting frontiers of imagination and creative problem solving.
Because they know the importance of creative play and exploration for healthy development of young brains, Love and Logic parents provide plenty of Love and Logic “Boredom Training Sessions.” Here are the five steps for a “Boredom Training Session”:
Step 1:
Plan for providing dull periods of time in your home.
Step 2:
Provide plenty of materials and toys that foster creativity.
Step 3:
Pray that your child will come to you and say, “I’m bored.”
Step 4:
Place primary responsibility for solving this “boredom problem” on your child.
Step 5:
“Notice and describe” when your child is playing independently. You could say:
“You built that by yourself?”
“That book looks really interesting.”
“You turned Teddy into a monster.”
“I noticed that you made three pictures.”
You’ll be amazed at how brightly your child’s eyes will shine when you apply these steps! Learn about other ways to nurture creativity and academic success in my book, From Bad Grades to a Great Life!
Thanks for reading!
Our goal is to help as many families as possible.
