Boredom

It's a common thing to hear:

"When my kid complains that he/she is bored, I give them a chore to do."

Since I love so much to go against the norm ;) I actually really disagree with this common parenting technique.  

When my kids tell me they're bored, I say, "GOOD.  Your brain grows the most when you're bored."

When we fill our kids boredom with a job, we really just helping them not be bored.  But when we allow our kids to be uncomfortable in that boredom, it gives them space to be creative and imagine things that they never would.

On the flip side, I think a lot of parents don't want their kids to be bored, because it's uncomfortable for them.  Boredom that leads to great things can be messy or loud or until they get their juices running, annoying.

Then, thanks to the fabulous kids podcast Wow in the World, the kids listened to an episode on boredom.  Best.thing.ever.  It wasn't too long after that, that we were sitting at the Oil museum, very bored and Eli said, "I'm glad I'm bored right now because it means my brain is growing a lot."

Perhaps Pooh said it best: