It is one thing for a person to be bored at school or on a job, and quite another to be bored in the absence of scheduled activities. Many of us have allowed our communities to impose guilt when we do not have every waking moment filled with activities that enrich the lives of our children and ourselves. Many of these activities nurture our children’s passions and many make our communities better places to live. There is great value in those extracurriculars and community involvement. But…
Knowing how to make use of unscheduled, unstructured time is a habit that will serve a child throughout his or her life. Games with siblings and friends, reading, fishing, imaginary games, building something, writing something, talking with a parent or grandparent and other activities that build stronger social and emotional ties can be very meaningful in the development of a self-motivated person. Countless hours planted in front of a television or violent computer game will not.
This article was sparked by a conversation with parents who realize the value of having their children use unscheduled times in positive and meaningful ways. That’s not always easy, though. There probably is a reason to be concerned that parents are guilted into having their children scheduled into activities seven days a week. Of course, we all want our children to have opportunities that will give them an upper hand as they compete for limited positions on teams, in universities and in some of the traditional careers many will choose. There is no question that great values and skills can be learned playing club sports, rehearsing in dance studios, taking music lessons, etc. However, if employers and future entrepreneurs are seeking self-directed, creative and adventurous people, I’m not convinced the overly-scheduled child will have had practice in those skills.
But just as the children need practice, so do the parents.
The Wonder Studio is a very popular parent-child program directed by Shannon Lipan on the Shorecrest campus. A key element of the program is to help adults learn how to give children a chance to create their own play and develop responsibility. Supporting parents and guardians as they learn to back off and let the children play like children is a true value Shannon’s program offers. The lessons could be valuable for parents and guardians with children of all ages. Imagine a portion of spring break or summer vacation where a Middle School student was encouraged to fill his or her days without TV, computer games, social media or scheduled, organized activities. I wonder what that college essay might say?
I hope all of our children and their parents/guardians have an opportunity to be bored in the coming months. With the right intentions and guidance, I am confident great friendships and ideas will be developed and valued even more than the travel team trophy that is collecting dust on a shelf.
Cheers!
Mike
