School holidays mean constant refrains of “I’m bored” and “play with me.” We respond by scheduling activities or handing over a screen, guilty either way. But what if boredom itself were the point?
Modern parenting has confused enrichment with constant stimulation. As a mum of two boys, 5 and 7, I know their week is packed: after-school classes every day, Russian school on Saturdays. In the rare free moment, they don’t know what to do. They wait for instructions.
Boredom isn’t a gap to fill. Bored children start to create, and it follows that there is chaos: houses from boxes, frozen water experiments on the balcony, whole worlds built from Lego and playdough.
When kids stop focusing outward, their brains don’t switch off. They wander, connecting unrelated ideas, imagining; that’s where original thinking comes from. A screen, a class, or a parent’s suggestion keeps the brain pointed outward, never letting it wander.
Boredom is actually executive function training in disguise. The child feels the discomfort, and without an adult or a device to rescue them, they are forced to sit with it, which builds their frustration tolerance. They are forced to come up with their own ideas and stick with them, practising self-directed focus. They finish their own tasks, not because they are following instructions, but because they have developed an intrinsic motivation to do so.
This is exactly what school demands: sitting with a hard maths problem, reading independently, starting tasks unprompted, trying again after failure. A child who is never bored never practises these skills.
When children are left with nothing to do, the resulting boredom acts as a powerful workout for their brains, building the exact skills they need to succeed in school. Landmark research by Dr Sandi Mann shows that when children get bored, their minds wander, which instantly unlocks deeper creative thinking and original problem-solving. Furthermore, experts from organisations like the Child Mind Institute explain that navigating empty downtime forces children to practice self-regulation, plan their own projects, and stick with tasks when they get frustrated. Instead of hurting their education, these home-based moments of boredom naturally strengthen a child’s “executive function” skills, giving them the internal drive, focus, and resilience needed to tackle tough homework and focus in the classroom.
Practical tips:
- Don’t offer options. When my kids say “I’m bored,” I resist listing activities. I tell them they can just lie down and rest. They never do; they ask again and again, but if I stay out of it, the ideas eventually come.
- Expect repeated complaints. When screens or structures are removed, children often whine for 15 to 20 minutes. Do not panic or give in. This discomfort is the exact friction required to activate their creative brain. The whining usually peaks right before something interesting happens. Sit through it.
- Make peace with the mess. The creative chaos afterwards is hard to accept, but there’s a payoff: my boys proudly show me every invention, and we tidy up together afterwards.
- Leave open-ended materials visible. Not activities with instructions and a right answer, just materials, and let the child decide what they become.
- Build an Unstructured Routine: Block out “Zero-Plan Time” in the family calendar. Ensure this time features zero screens, zero scheduled sports, and zero adult-led instructions. In my family, it is usually after dinner, when I clean up the kitchen.
Bio:
Victoria Karakulova is a mum of two boys and the founder of Twisty Kids, an Australian brand making reusable wax sticks for open-ended, screen-free play.
Website: twistykids.com
Instagram: @twisty.kids
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