One of the reasons for starting this blog was to be able to share my parenting mistakes with other mom's so they can learn from me and avoid them in their own lives. So, allow me to share one of my biggest regrets... and that is not allowing my daughter to ever be bored! From a very young age, I have taken up the task of providing constant entertainment and activities for my daughter, whether it was traveling by car, eating out at a restaurant or just passing time during the day. I guess I had bought into the lie that idle hands is the devil's work and in an attempt not to make her lazy, I went to extreme measures of keeping her entertained.
However, I realise now what a mistake this was and now at 10years old, without the usual gadgets or TV, she does not know how to occupy herself. Granted, she is an only child, which makes 'playing' a little more difficult, but I've since learnt that children NEED boredom in order to engage their creative minds and to learn how to entertain themselves without the use of technology.
So it's okay for them to have to watch the scenery instead in the car or converse with us while we wait for our dinner and when you hear that whine of 'I'm bored', but glad and thankful for it... Don't rush in with ideas for them, but allow them to find things for themselves to do. Have a creative corner in the house where you can provide the materials and tools where they make things to play with. And when all else fails, and you see them day-dreaming, smile to yourself and know that their brains are finding their own path to a better imagination with the added benefit of some calmness and peace...
