6 solutions to boredom
  1. Check your child isn't just hungry or tired as everything can feel boring then. It isn't boredom, just lack of energy to engage in an activity
  2. A lot feels out of control right now, so try to provide your child with new day-to-day choices (such as a menu for the day, where you eat dinner, or what order they do their school work in)
  3. Don't feel obligated or responsible to stop this terrible experience for your children. They can develop internal resources (attention, self-regulation, creativity) by having to solve the boredom problem themselves
  4. Teach your child not to be afraid of the feelings that come with boredom, but excited. Boredom is a signal that indicates change is needed. Help them to generate ideas and then pick one to engage in. Let them be responsible for the choice. Get them to create a boredom box with ideas they can choose from
  5. Help them break a task down they're struggling with and get started. Boredom is sometimes just getting over the hard part of getting started
  6. Try setting a timer with your family, turning off your devices, and engaging in something meaningful together for 20 minutes. Creativity emerges in space, and mobile devices provide easy distraction. They'll never know what they could achieve if they're always distracted.
Images: Wes Mountain/The Conversation CC-BY-ND