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| The Calm Before The Storm |
So how did that happen? When did parents become responsible for their kid's constant entertainment and boredom removal? (and when did kids' cups become so damn hard to put together?) I don't remember my mom constantly spending time with me and making sure that, God forbid, I wasn't bored. But here I am, a gazillion mom years later, and I find myself screeching to the Dad unit, "Quick! Get on the floor and play race track! He appears under stimulated!"
Back in the good old days of parenting, if I got bored, my mama would tell me to hush - she was watching her stories, and you did not want to interrupt her stories. She took her story watching very seriously, and by the time I was five, I knew all the plot lines of every soap opera on NBC. Days of Our Lives taught me everything I know about love and intrigue. Because of that show, I'm never sure people really die...maybe they're hiding out on an island, only to reappear when their former love is about to remarry. It could happen.
Where was I? Oh yeah, bored kids. What happened to letting them play and just learn on their own? I don't mean you shouldn't interact with them, but I know I and lots of other mamas feel pretty guilty when we aren't constantly stimulating their intellectual growth. What if they grow up to be mediocre because they watched too much Little Baby Bum?! Right now there is a mama out there making homemade play dough and planning to make a mold of her kid's right foot, because, well, she should. After that she'll do some algebra with him and maybe review the periodic table.
With Winter upon us, boredom is a constant threat. Apparently, if my kid doesn't go out every single freaking day, he turns into psycho baby. I diligently watch the sky like some kind of boy scout to see if the weather is right for us to slip out for 10 minutes so the young one can run and play and "burn off energy." That's parent speak for "stop being a holy terror."
Today I watched the sky and announced triumphantly that we could indeed go play. Thirty minutes later, when we were both appropriately bundled, we went out into the cold. All was fine until he wanted to go into the creek. We've had torrential rains, so it was more like a roaring river. No way he's going near that. Cue tantrum....
I proceeded to pick him up and tried to carry him home, only to have him practice his new head butting skill on my chin. That felt great. I finally got him into the house, where he cried for fifteen minutes on the floor and finally went to bed. He had been asleep for only a little while when my Lab woke him up. Now he's watching television and doesn't look bored - for the moment.
Parents, we need to cut ourselves some slack. We're not a one woman/man show. If you read books, snuggled your kid, fed him, gave him love and turned off the television at least once, I say you had a good day! If your child played in his room by himself, I'll argue that's healthy. Some of the best play my son has done is when he goes into his room alone and creatively plays with his toys. I'm not there to instruct - he comes up with the play all on his own.
Maybe, just maybe, our kids aren't bored after all.
How do you handle your kid's boredom? Share in our comment section and don't forget to like us on Facebook and share our posts!
Sleepily,
AmandaZ
Domesticology
