When Boredom Strikes in the Summer Holidays

We’re in the thick of it now; us parents of school age children, navigating the summer holidays.

Social media is full of posts showing the wonderful things families are getting up to; I’m guilty of that too! We’ve had a wonderful, adventurous holiday, full of memories and experiences. But from now on, things are going to be a little different: cheap, child-led and wherever possible, outdoors.

Week 2 or 3 is often the stage in the holidays when parent guilt starts to creep in.

Am I doing enough? Do I need to constantly entertain my kids and provide stimulating, exciting opportunities… because it looks like everyone else is?

The answer, is no.

When boredom strikes… something interesting can happen. They find their own way through it. Children have wonderful imaginations and boredom can be the space where that imagination comes into play. They might create a game, invent a story, build something, engage in imaginative play or simply discover something that captures their attention.

I often (annoylingly) find myself saying, “back in my day, we had to make our own fun.”

And it’s true. We were, for the most part, left to our own devices (not the technological kind!) I can still remember the games we made up, the funny phrases we used, the role play, the toys we played with and the adventures we created from very little.

Of course, things are different in many ways now. One example is the instant access to entertainment and stimulation through screens. Of course, when they’re used to that level of immediate engagement, it can feel like a real challenge to compete with it. Let’s face it, it applies to us adults too. For anyone interested in exploring the wider impact of technology and childhood, ‘The Anxious Generation’ by Jonathan Haidt is an interesting read.

This isn’t a lecture about screens. Screens are part of modern family life, and every family will find its own balance. It’s simply a reminder that children don't need to be entertained every minute of every day.

In fact, boredom is important to experience. Let them feel bored. Let them reach the “I’m bored!”  stage without immediately rushing to solve it. Give them the opportunity to work out what they can do next. To use their imagination. To be creative. To problem-solve. To practise resilience. To discover something for themselves.

We can step back and let our children simply be. So, if you're a parent who is feeling guilty because your child has told you they're bored for the fifth time and it’s only 10am…take a breath. You haven't failed. You don't need to fill every hour. You don't need to recreate the ‘perfect summer’ you see online.

Have honest conversations about boredom. You can simply say, “I know you're bored. I wonder what you might do about that?” Learning to sit with boredom and then finding your own way through it is a skill. Perhaps one of the most valuable things we can give our children this summer is the chance to discover that they are capable of entertaining themselves.

So, parents, let go of some of that guilt. The summer holidays don't have to be packed with activities, adventures and expensive days out. Sometimes, the best memories come from the days when there was nothing planned at all.