October 9, 2025 • 19 mins
When your kids say, “Mom, I’m bored,” does your stomach twist a little? You’re not alone. In this episode, Kelsey unpacks why we’ve come to see boredom as a problem—and why it’s actually a powerful opportunity for growth, imagination, and even spiritual formation.
She shares her personal reflections on homeschooling, how our culture has conditioned us to fear stillness, and how helping our children learn to sit in the quiet prepares them to one day hear their own inner voice—and the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit.
You’ll also learn practical ways to respond when your kids are bored, including:
• Why quick fixes like screens, toys, and playdates often backfire
• How to redirect boredom into creativity, responsibility, and connection
• The spiritual power of silence and unstructured time
If you’ve been feeling the pressure to entertain your kids 24/7, this episode will help you exhale, trust the process, and rediscover the beauty of calm, quiet, and creativity in your home.
Listen in and be reminded: boredom isn’t a crisis—it’s an invitation to something sacred.
Follow Kelsey on Instagram @creating.intentional.mothers
and explore her growing library of motherhood resources through her Linktree
Learn more about the STOP THE SPIRAL Mini-Course here.
Purchase your Purposeful Living Journal here.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kelsey Redd (00:10):
Hi friends, welcome back to Intentional Motherhood.
I'm your host, Kelsey Redd, aclinical mental health counselor
turned stay at home mom of fourlittle ones, a wife, a
Christian, and someone learningright alongside you how to raise
kids with faith, resilience, andjoy for everyone in the
household. And can you believeit's October? What a whirlwind
(00:34):
of a September we had. I can'tbelieve it's already October.
Fall is officially here. We'vehad some cold, rainy mornings
and it's been so beautiful. Ilove this time of year. It also
reminds me that we're gettinginto the time of year when
there's some dreary weather,it's harder to get outside, it's
harder to just go out and play.And something that stresses me
(00:57):
out, I'm sure you guys canrelate to it, is that phrase
that just can make any mom'sskin crawl.
Mom, I'm bored. I'm bored. Idon't know if you guys hear this
as often as I do in my house,but that's what we're gonna talk
about today. And before we getstarted, I want to remind you
(01:18):
guys to always check these shownotes. I've been putting all
sorts of links to courses thatI'm creating and even just some
checklists and guidelines andplanners ideas with actual tools
that you guys can download.
Some are free, some are paidfor, so that you can have real
(01:40):
practical lists and worksheetsright in front of you to help
make motherhood that muchsimpler for you. So check the
show notes below for kind ofthis whole library I've been
building, but also another easyway to find it is just my
Linktree. You guys have probablyseen this before. It's just
link, linktr.ee/kelsierd. If yougo on there, I've got a whole
(02:06):
library of all these tools andresources I've been building for
you guys.
And the reason it's on myLinktree or my Instagram link in
bio, my Instagram is creating.Intentional. Mothers, is because
I don't even have a website yet.That's how grassroots this
movement is. I'm just gettingthis started and that's where
I'm at right now.
(02:27):
But in the meantime, you guysare welcome to go onto those
links, whether in Instagram orLinktree, or just click on the
show notes below and get accessto all sorts of the things that
I'm creating. And I'm justcreating more. I find that I
really, I've always been anorganizer. I've always been a
planner. I've always liked towrite things out because I'm a
(02:48):
very visual person.
So And as much as I love talkingit out with you guys, I have
these resources that are in mymind just easier to understand
and actually work throughbecause they're written out for
you in a worksheet or in ajournal or in a checklist.
Checklist. So head over to theshow notes to look for that. Now
(03:09):
let's get back to today's topic.Mom, I'm bored.
The funniest thing to me is whenmy six year old says this to me
literally two minutes out of bedin the morning. I don't know if
anyone else's kids do this, butI will have my kid who literally
(03:31):
gets out of bed, you know,climbs onto the couch first
thing in the morning. And thefirst thing she says to me is,
mom, I'm bored. I'm like, well,you woke up thirty seconds ago.
So I'm not sure what to tellyou.
It's gonna be a long day. But Ithink honestly sometimes kids
just say this when they'reactually pleading for attention,
(03:53):
but they don't know what it isthey need. They don't know if
they want a hug. They don't knowif they want someone to just
come and look at them in theeyes and have a conversation
with them. So I think you guyshave probably seen the Instagram
memes that say kids won't say Ineed connection, but they'll
say, will you play with me?
(04:14):
And I think sometimes that I'mbored is kind of one of those
situations. So I used to feellike I had to fix something that
used to stress me out, But now Ihave made the mental shift and I
know that boredom isn't aproblem to solve. It's actually
(04:35):
something that shows me that I'mdoing something right and that
there's something here I need tocontinue to protect so that that
continues to come up. In oursociety, we've just come to
believe that boredom is acrisis, right? That if our kids
aren't being constantlyentertained, then we're somehow
(04:56):
failing them.
This is what society wants us tobelieve. But boredom isn't the
enemy. It's actually thebirthplace of creativity,
imagination, and innovation. SoI want you to think back to your
own childhood. I remember havingall sorts of time in the
afternoons after school whenthere was nothing to do.
(05:18):
And those sometimes become themost magical moments. That's
when we start to get creativeand build forts out of blankets
or we turn sticks into wands, orwe invent completely new games
with friends that were playingwith no adult supervision
whatsoever. Unstructured timesactually create room for our
inner world to expand. Andactually, want to zoom out a
(05:43):
little bit and think about how,and maybe I'm going in a
direction here that is seemingdifferent. And it's honestly due
to some of the recent events ofthe last month that I'm starting
to really see things as aspiritual warfare.
We are really actually fightingsomething deeper and I think
(06:04):
it's a fight on spirituality.And so I'm starting to just kind
of have this lens on all thetime. So maybe that explains the
direction that I'm going here alittle bit. But what I want to
say is that if we zoom out alittle bit, boredom and really
actually silence, any silence,is so much more than just about
(06:28):
like creativity. It's actuallysomething spiritual.
There is something spiritual insilence and quiet. When we allow
this kind of space, we'reteaching our kids something
sacred. We're teaching them thatpeace and presence, like mindful
presence, aren't found in thebusyness. We can't always be
(06:51):
busy. We're teaching them thatit's okay to be still, it's okay
to be quiet and calm.
And we don't need to be afraidof this. I think there's a
growing discomfort with our ownthoughts. I know so many people
who, I mean, myself included, Ishouldn't even talk about other
(07:12):
people. But I'm actuallythinking of a research study. I
know I sometimes struggle tojust be alone with my thoughts
quietly.
But I'm actually thinking of aresearch study where when given
the option between actuallyzapping themselves with a little
minor electric shock or being incomplete and utter silence and
(07:33):
quiet and stillness, researchparticipants would choose the
shock because they just gotbored and couldn't handle it. So
it's a real skill that because Ithink that there is a connection
between spirituality and silenceand calmness and stillness, I
(07:54):
think the, let's just say, metacorporations know that keeping
us constantly occupied and busyand distracted and putting other
voices into our head will createlifelong consumers out of us
rather than people who have the,who are sovereign enough to be
(08:16):
in control of their own thoughtsand their own willpower because
they have grown comfortable withthe ability to be in silence,
and in calmness, and in boredomand in presence and mindfulness.
So let's get back to childrenlearning this as actually a
skill in their young childhood.As they grow up, their ability
(08:37):
to be comfortable with silenceactually does become the soil
where something even morebeautiful can grow. Their
ability to hear their own innervoice.
Their ability to be still enoughto sense the whisper of the Holy
Spirit. And I think that's askill that we are losing. I know
I'm losing it because like Isaid, it's so easy to always
(09:00):
have something going on in myhead, in my ears, I should say,
something in my ears that I'mlistening to. And if we are
struggling to do that, and if wedon't make the intentional
effort to teach our kids to helpthem learn to sit in the quiet,
then how will they ever learn tolisten? Maybe we need to
practice too.
(09:22):
I'm off the cuff here decidingright now that this is something
I need to practice better too.But let's talk now about what we
usually kind of default to whenour kids say they're bored, and
why maybe it backfires, but it'sjust kind of what we've been
conditioned to do. So here aresome of the common quick fixes
(09:43):
that we tend to reach for.Obviously, screens, right? The
fastest boredom buster you canfind is a screen.
But screens don't satisfy, theyoverstimulate. And actually
afterwards, our kids are usuallymore irritable and not less
bored. They are just nowlearning to be consumers and to
(10:05):
be entertained passively ratherthan creating entertainment. Of
course, we love to hand themtoys, more stuff, hoping that a
new toy will keep them occupiedand keep them busy and they'll
be so excited about this newtoy. But again, sometimes new
toys, especially new toys thatare designed specifically to be
(10:29):
exciting and bright and havelots of lights and sounds, they
actually shut down imaginationbecause they are specifically
designed for instantgratification and not for
creative problem solving andimaginative play.
Another thing we often do, whichmaybe I get guilty of because I
(10:51):
like to keep myself busysometimes, is constant play
dates or outings. And of coursesocial connection is great, but
constantly rescuing them fromjust being alone robs them of
learning how to enjoy their owncompany. My husband and I were
just talking about this thisweekend actually because we've
(11:11):
been homeschooling now andeveryone else is in school, or
at least a lot of our friendsare in school. So when we go out
to a park, for instance, wearen't with a bunch of friends
like we maybe were in thesummer, there's just not as many
kids out on the playgrounds inthe middle of the day during the
week. And I have noticed thatbecause they're not, my children
(11:34):
are not waiting for other kidsto entertain them or waiting for
a group of kids to create a gamethat they can go along with,
they're actually learning to getalong better either themselves
or just within the group of thethree of them.
My three oldest kids areactually learning to play so
well in just their own company.And I actually love that the
(11:58):
sibling bond is beingstrengthened rather than a
reliance on a large group ofchildren or maybe a few certain
friends who are much moreassertive than my kids would be
on their own. So I have reallyseen how this being alone, even
just with our family, is helpingthem to start learning how to
(12:19):
create games, just the three ofthem. It's been really
beautiful. And a fourth go toquick fix for boredom is just
super structured activities suchas sports or lessons or even
like crafts that we have to manpersonally.
I hate these kinds of crafts. Imuch prefer here's some craft
(12:42):
materials. Create a craft ofyour own accord because I just
can't handle the mess. All thesethings are good. These sports
and lessons and crafts, they'regreat.
But too much structure, again,can make kids dependent on us to
provide the stimulation for theminstead of learning how to
generate it for themselves. Sothe truth is every time we rush
in to fill their boredom, we aretaking away an opportunity for
(13:07):
growth for them. So if we're nothanding them screens and toys
and constant activities, whatcan we give them when they're
bored? Here's a few ideas that Ihave been working on in the last
couple months, especially aswe've been homeschooling, that
not only fill their time in themoment, but actually build some
(13:31):
long term character andindependence. First of all, my
go to response when my kids tellme they're bored, mom, I'm
bored, is cool, you want a job?
I love to give them jobs andchores and oftentimes it's kind
of almost more of a joke in thissituation because they know I'm
gonna say that and they ofcourse say no, But they know
(13:53):
they have responsibilityanyways. So something you can do
to fight the boredom is givethem small responsibilities,
jobs like watering the plants orwiping the table or going and
getting the laundry. It teachesthem that they contribute to the
family and that they have apurpose in the family. And
sometimes they actually feel somuch more satisfaction in doing
(14:15):
the grown up things they see usdoing. I'll oftentimes when
they're saying they're bored,invite them to join me in
whatever job I'm currently doinglike, okay, come help me make
breakfast then or perfect, goset the table because we're
about to sit down for breakfastor well, come over here and help
me with the dishes.
These are great responsibilitiesthat they can learn to
(14:37):
participate in as a family. Ofcourse, you know I'm gonna
mention nature. My kids tell methey're bored and I say, go
outside, go play outside, Evenif it's just in the backyard,
boredom in nature almost alwaysturns into exploration and
creativity. Let me say thatagain. Boredom in nature is my
(15:00):
favorite kind of boredom,because it almost always turns
into exploration and creativityand imaginative play.
Love this. So send them out intonature when they're bored. Third
option, give them the gift ofindependent play. We've talked
about this extensively about whyindependent play is a gift for
(15:22):
you and a gift for them.Encourage them to figure it out.
Go play with Legos, go buildsomething with cardboard. I keep
a supply of cardboard boxes.It's called my recycling bin,
but my kids think of it as aplay chest because they are
constantly drawing, cutting,building with cardboard. Let
(15:42):
them draw, let them make up astory with their dolls or their
stuffies or their Barbies. It'samazing what kids come up with
when no one is telling them howto do it.
And lastly, sometimes what I'mbored really means is I'm tired.
So rest might be something thatyou need, they need to be given.
Sometimes it's okay to just say,you know what, you might be,
(16:06):
your maybe your body needs somerest right now. You can just lay
there on the couch. Why don'tyou pick up a book and read for
a little while?
And I say read in quotes,because my kids can't even
necessarily read yet. But whydon't you look through some
books? Here's the key though,none of these solutions are the
same as the quick fixes. They'renot flashy, they're not
(16:28):
instantaneous, they're notproviding something for kids
that they can consume. They'reopportunities for children to
actually create somethingthemselves.
These are quiet, ordinary, andoftentimes uncomfortable at the
beginning. And that's the beautyof it. We're teaching our kids
to find contentment in the calmand not in the constant constant
(16:52):
stimulation. So, friends, thenext time your child says, I'm
bored. Take a moment before youjump in, maybe actually smile
and recognize, cool, I'm doingsomething right.
And realize this isn't a crisis,this is an opportunity. This is
an invitation to creativity, tostillness, maybe even to the
(17:17):
beginning of some quietmeditations, or conversations
between their soul and theSpirit of God. These at least
are building the foundation forthem to get there when they're
older. Because the world will doeverything it can to fill the
silence, to keep putting intoour children's minds what the
(17:40):
world wants them to think and tolearn and to believe. But we can
help our kids to growcomfortable in calmness and
quiet so that they can listen tothe Spirit of God, so that they
can create their own originalcritical thoughts.
And that might just be one ofthe most valuable gifts we ever
give them. Thank you so much forjoining me today. If this
(18:02):
episode encouraged you at all,would you share it with a friend
who might also enjoy it? Maybejust do a quick rating or even a
review to help more moms findthe show. And maybe even
screenshot, tag me on socialmedia, so that we can help more
and more moms join the army ofmothers who are called of God to
(18:27):
teach children to lead the worldin faith and family centered
values.
Don't forget to subscribe andfollow me at
creating.intentional.mothers formore faith filled encouragement
for intentional mothers. Untilnext time, take a deep breath,
(18:52):
and remember, we are doing themost important job in the world.
I'll see you next time onIntentional Motherhood.
Hi friends, welcome back to Intentional Motherhood.
I'm your host, Kelsey Redd, aclinical mental health counselor
turned stay at home mom of fourlittle ones, a wife, a
Christian, and someone learningright alongside you how to raise
kids with faith, resilience, andjoy for everyone in the
household. And can you believeit's October? What a whirlwind
(00:34):
of a September we had. I can'tbelieve it's already October.
Fall is officially here. We'vehad some cold, rainy mornings
and it's been so beautiful. Ilove this time of year. It also
reminds me that we're gettinginto the time of year when
there's some dreary weather,it's harder to get outside, it's
harder to just go out and play.And something that stresses me
(00:57):
out, I'm sure you guys canrelate to it, is that phrase
that just can make any mom'sskin crawl.
Mom, I'm bored. I'm bored. Idon't know if you guys hear this
as often as I do in my house,but that's what we're gonna talk
about today. And before we getstarted, I want to remind you
(01:18):
guys to always check these shownotes. I've been putting all
sorts of links to courses thatI'm creating and even just some
checklists and guidelines andplanners ideas with actual tools
that you guys can download.
Some are free, some are paidfor, so that you can have real
(01:40):
practical lists and worksheetsright in front of you to help
make motherhood that muchsimpler for you. So check the
show notes below for kind ofthis whole library I've been
building, but also another easyway to find it is just my
Linktree. You guys have probablyseen this before. It's just
link, linktr.ee/kelsierd. If yougo on there, I've got a whole
(02:06):
library of all these tools andresources I've been building for
you guys.
And the reason it's on myLinktree or my Instagram link in
bio, my Instagram is creating.Intentional. Mothers, is because
I don't even have a website yet.That's how grassroots this
movement is. I'm just gettingthis started and that's where
I'm at right now.
(02:27):
But in the meantime, you guysare welcome to go onto those
links, whether in Instagram orLinktree, or just click on the
show notes below and get accessto all sorts of the things that
I'm creating. And I'm justcreating more. I find that I
really, I've always been anorganizer. I've always been a
planner. I've always liked towrite things out because I'm a
(02:48):
very visual person.
So And as much as I love talkingit out with you guys, I have
these resources that are in mymind just easier to understand
and actually work throughbecause they're written out for
you in a worksheet or in ajournal or in a checklist.
Checklist. So head over to theshow notes to look for that. Now
(03:09):
let's get back to today's topic.Mom, I'm bored.
The funniest thing to me is whenmy six year old says this to me
literally two minutes out of bedin the morning. I don't know if
anyone else's kids do this, butI will have my kid who literally
(03:31):
gets out of bed, you know,climbs onto the couch first
thing in the morning. And thefirst thing she says to me is,
mom, I'm bored. I'm like, well,you woke up thirty seconds ago.
So I'm not sure what to tellyou.
It's gonna be a long day. But Ithink honestly sometimes kids
just say this when they'reactually pleading for attention,
(03:53):
but they don't know what it isthey need. They don't know if
they want a hug. They don't knowif they want someone to just
come and look at them in theeyes and have a conversation
with them. So I think you guyshave probably seen the Instagram
memes that say kids won't say Ineed connection, but they'll
say, will you play with me?
(04:14):
And I think sometimes that I'mbored is kind of one of those
situations. So I used to feellike I had to fix something that
used to stress me out, But now Ihave made the mental shift and I
know that boredom isn't aproblem to solve. It's actually
(04:35):
something that shows me that I'mdoing something right and that
there's something here I need tocontinue to protect so that that
continues to come up. In oursociety, we've just come to
believe that boredom is acrisis, right? That if our kids
aren't being constantlyentertained, then we're somehow
(04:56):
failing them.
This is what society wants us tobelieve. But boredom isn't the
enemy. It's actually thebirthplace of creativity,
imagination, and innovation. SoI want you to think back to your
own childhood. I remember havingall sorts of time in the
afternoons after school whenthere was nothing to do.
(05:18):
And those sometimes become themost magical moments. That's
when we start to get creativeand build forts out of blankets
or we turn sticks into wands, orwe invent completely new games
with friends that were playingwith no adult supervision
whatsoever. Unstructured timesactually create room for our
inner world to expand. Andactually, want to zoom out a
(05:43):
little bit and think about how,and maybe I'm going in a
direction here that is seemingdifferent. And it's honestly due
to some of the recent events ofthe last month that I'm starting
to really see things as aspiritual warfare.
We are really actually fightingsomething deeper and I think
(06:04):
it's a fight on spirituality.And so I'm starting to just kind
of have this lens on all thetime. So maybe that explains the
direction that I'm going here alittle bit. But what I want to
say is that if we zoom out alittle bit, boredom and really
actually silence, any silence,is so much more than just about
(06:28):
like creativity. It's actuallysomething spiritual.
There is something spiritual insilence and quiet. When we allow
this kind of space, we'reteaching our kids something
sacred. We're teaching them thatpeace and presence, like mindful
presence, aren't found in thebusyness. We can't always be
(06:51):
busy. We're teaching them thatit's okay to be still, it's okay
to be quiet and calm.
And we don't need to be afraidof this. I think there's a
growing discomfort with our ownthoughts. I know so many people
who, I mean, myself included, Ishouldn't even talk about other
(07:12):
people. But I'm actuallythinking of a research study. I
know I sometimes struggle tojust be alone with my thoughts
quietly.
But I'm actually thinking of aresearch study where when given
the option between actuallyzapping themselves with a little
minor electric shock or being incomplete and utter silence and
(07:33):
quiet and stillness, researchparticipants would choose the
shock because they just gotbored and couldn't handle it. So
it's a real skill that because Ithink that there is a connection
between spirituality and silenceand calmness and stillness, I
(07:54):
think the, let's just say, metacorporations know that keeping
us constantly occupied and busyand distracted and putting other
voices into our head will createlifelong consumers out of us
rather than people who have the,who are sovereign enough to be
(08:16):
in control of their own thoughtsand their own willpower because
they have grown comfortable withthe ability to be in silence,
and in calmness, and in boredomand in presence and mindfulness.
So let's get back to childrenlearning this as actually a
skill in their young childhood.As they grow up, their ability
(08:37):
to be comfortable with silenceactually does become the soil
where something even morebeautiful can grow. Their
ability to hear their own innervoice.
Their ability to be still enoughto sense the whisper of the Holy
Spirit. And I think that's askill that we are losing. I know
I'm losing it because like Isaid, it's so easy to always
(09:00):
have something going on in myhead, in my ears, I should say,
something in my ears that I'mlistening to. And if we are
struggling to do that, and if wedon't make the intentional
effort to teach our kids to helpthem learn to sit in the quiet,
then how will they ever learn tolisten? Maybe we need to
practice too.
(09:22):
I'm off the cuff here decidingright now that this is something
I need to practice better too.But let's talk now about what we
usually kind of default to whenour kids say they're bored, and
why maybe it backfires, but it'sjust kind of what we've been
conditioned to do. So here aresome of the common quick fixes
(09:43):
that we tend to reach for.Obviously, screens, right? The
fastest boredom buster you canfind is a screen.
But screens don't satisfy, theyoverstimulate. And actually
afterwards, our kids are usuallymore irritable and not less
bored. They are just nowlearning to be consumers and to
(10:05):
be entertained passively ratherthan creating entertainment. Of
course, we love to hand themtoys, more stuff, hoping that a
new toy will keep them occupiedand keep them busy and they'll
be so excited about this newtoy. But again, sometimes new
toys, especially new toys thatare designed specifically to be
(10:29):
exciting and bright and havelots of lights and sounds, they
actually shut down imaginationbecause they are specifically
designed for instantgratification and not for
creative problem solving andimaginative play.
Another thing we often do, whichmaybe I get guilty of because I
(10:51):
like to keep myself busysometimes, is constant play
dates or outings. And of coursesocial connection is great, but
constantly rescuing them fromjust being alone robs them of
learning how to enjoy their owncompany. My husband and I were
just talking about this thisweekend actually because we've
(11:11):
been homeschooling now andeveryone else is in school, or
at least a lot of our friendsare in school. So when we go out
to a park, for instance, wearen't with a bunch of friends
like we maybe were in thesummer, there's just not as many
kids out on the playgrounds inthe middle of the day during the
week. And I have noticed thatbecause they're not, my children
(11:34):
are not waiting for other kidsto entertain them or waiting for
a group of kids to create a gamethat they can go along with,
they're actually learning to getalong better either themselves
or just within the group of thethree of them.
My three oldest kids areactually learning to play so
well in just their own company.And I actually love that the
(11:58):
sibling bond is beingstrengthened rather than a
reliance on a large group ofchildren or maybe a few certain
friends who are much moreassertive than my kids would be
on their own. So I have reallyseen how this being alone, even
just with our family, is helpingthem to start learning how to
(12:19):
create games, just the three ofthem. It's been really
beautiful. And a fourth go toquick fix for boredom is just
super structured activities suchas sports or lessons or even
like crafts that we have to manpersonally.
I hate these kinds of crafts. Imuch prefer here's some craft
(12:42):
materials. Create a craft ofyour own accord because I just
can't handle the mess. All thesethings are good. These sports
and lessons and crafts, they'regreat.
But too much structure, again,can make kids dependent on us to
provide the stimulation for theminstead of learning how to
generate it for themselves. Sothe truth is every time we rush
in to fill their boredom, we aretaking away an opportunity for
(13:07):
growth for them. So if we're nothanding them screens and toys
and constant activities, whatcan we give them when they're
bored? Here's a few ideas that Ihave been working on in the last
couple months, especially aswe've been homeschooling, that
not only fill their time in themoment, but actually build some
(13:31):
long term character andindependence. First of all, my
go to response when my kids tellme they're bored, mom, I'm
bored, is cool, you want a job?
I love to give them jobs andchores and oftentimes it's kind
of almost more of a joke in thissituation because they know I'm
gonna say that and they ofcourse say no, But they know
(13:53):
they have responsibilityanyways. So something you can do
to fight the boredom is givethem small responsibilities,
jobs like watering the plants orwiping the table or going and
getting the laundry. It teachesthem that they contribute to the
family and that they have apurpose in the family. And
sometimes they actually feel somuch more satisfaction in doing
(14:15):
the grown up things they see usdoing. I'll oftentimes when
they're saying they're bored,invite them to join me in
whatever job I'm currently doinglike, okay, come help me make
breakfast then or perfect, goset the table because we're
about to sit down for breakfastor well, come over here and help
me with the dishes.
These are great responsibilitiesthat they can learn to
(14:37):
participate in as a family. Ofcourse, you know I'm gonna
mention nature. My kids tell methey're bored and I say, go
outside, go play outside, Evenif it's just in the backyard,
boredom in nature almost alwaysturns into exploration and
creativity. Let me say thatagain. Boredom in nature is my
(15:00):
favorite kind of boredom,because it almost always turns
into exploration and creativityand imaginative play.
Love this. So send them out intonature when they're bored. Third
option, give them the gift ofindependent play. We've talked
about this extensively about whyindependent play is a gift for
(15:22):
you and a gift for them.Encourage them to figure it out.
Go play with Legos, go buildsomething with cardboard. I keep
a supply of cardboard boxes.It's called my recycling bin,
but my kids think of it as aplay chest because they are
constantly drawing, cutting,building with cardboard. Let
(15:42):
them draw, let them make up astory with their dolls or their
stuffies or their Barbies. It'samazing what kids come up with
when no one is telling them howto do it.
And lastly, sometimes what I'mbored really means is I'm tired.
So rest might be something thatyou need, they need to be given.
Sometimes it's okay to just say,you know what, you might be,
(16:06):
your maybe your body needs somerest right now. You can just lay
there on the couch. Why don'tyou pick up a book and read for
a little while?
And I say read in quotes,because my kids can't even
necessarily read yet. But whydon't you look through some
books? Here's the key though,none of these solutions are the
same as the quick fixes. They'renot flashy, they're not
(16:28):
instantaneous, they're notproviding something for kids
that they can consume. They'reopportunities for children to
actually create somethingthemselves.
These are quiet, ordinary, andoftentimes uncomfortable at the
beginning. And that's the beautyof it. We're teaching our kids
to find contentment in the calmand not in the constant constant
(16:52):
stimulation. So, friends, thenext time your child says, I'm
bored. Take a moment before youjump in, maybe actually smile
and recognize, cool, I'm doingsomething right.
And realize this isn't a crisis,this is an opportunity. This is
an invitation to creativity, tostillness, maybe even to the
(17:17):
beginning of some quietmeditations, or conversations
between their soul and theSpirit of God. These at least
are building the foundation forthem to get there when they're
older. Because the world will doeverything it can to fill the
silence, to keep putting intoour children's minds what the
(17:40):
world wants them to think and tolearn and to believe. But we can
help our kids to growcomfortable in calmness and
quiet so that they can listen tothe Spirit of God, so that they
can create their own originalcritical thoughts.
And that might just be one ofthe most valuable gifts we ever
give them. Thank you so much forjoining me today. If this
(18:02):
episode encouraged you at all,would you share it with a friend
who might also enjoy it? Maybejust do a quick rating or even a
review to help more moms findthe show. And maybe even
screenshot, tag me on socialmedia, so that we can help more
and more moms join the army ofmothers who are called of God to
(18:27):
teach children to lead the worldin faith and family centered
values.
Don't forget to subscribe andfollow me at
creating.intentional.mothers formore faith filled encouragement
for intentional mothers. Untilnext time, take a deep breath,
(18:52):
and remember, we are doing themost important job in the world.
I'll see you next time onIntentional Motherhood.
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