When I was growing up I was bored All. The. Time. My kids? Never. Yet when I think about my childhood now I am thrilled to remember the parts I loved about being a kid growing up in rural Tennessee, like running under gutters in the rain and jumping in gigantic puddles, "ice skating" in our slippers on the iced-over road, digging in cow pies to see what the cows had eaten, climbing trees, running around our roof and jumping off it while avoiding rusty nails, building forts with rusty barbed wires and broken glass (to keep the "bad guys" out), chasing and catching wild baby rabbits, studying berries encased in ice from the latest ice storm, exploring the woods and river near our home, having mud wars with my brothers, playing badminton in the front yard with a dead tree stump as the net, watching and catching fireflies on muggy summer nights, the idyllic list goes on and on...
I have been doing a lot of thinking about the increased rates of depression, anxiety and isolation in our teenagers and its link to the overuse of technology. Youth are always connected to a device and have forgotten (or never learned) how to have a conversation or play outside. In addition, our young people are never bored. Their brains never have a moment to rest.
Mental illness is very real and should not be stigmatized. It is multifaceted with genetic, environmental, and social factors. My conclusion is: I can't do a lot about genetics, but we can influence the environmental and social arenas.
I feel strongly that it is our job as parents to protect our kid's mental health so I have instituted "THE SUMMER OF BOREDOM" for M, J, D, and C. I hope the caps lock conveys how ominous it sounded to our kids as I rolled out the plan.
Here's the plan: With the exception of the trips we've planned, the kids will do chores and homework in the morning and be bored the rest of the day. If they tell me they are bored then I will have them wash walls or pull weeds. I explained the goal of this summer is to invent, create, and think...about, something, nothing, or everything with the goal being to connect to each other and the world around them and to make their own idyllic memories.
I assure you I am waaaaaaay more excited for this summer then they are.
The morning of Day One has been peaceful. M has spent a chunk of time at the piano and the boys worked on a word search together. Wish us luck!
D showed me this bucket list he made with his teacher before school let out. I think we can accommodate these things quite nicely.
I have been doing a lot of thinking about the increased rates of depression, anxiety and isolation in our teenagers and its link to the overuse of technology. Youth are always connected to a device and have forgotten (or never learned) how to have a conversation or play outside. In addition, our young people are never bored. Their brains never have a moment to rest.
Mental illness is very real and should not be stigmatized. It is multifaceted with genetic, environmental, and social factors. My conclusion is: I can't do a lot about genetics, but we can influence the environmental and social arenas.
I feel strongly that it is our job as parents to protect our kid's mental health so I have instituted "THE SUMMER OF BOREDOM" for M, J, D, and C. I hope the caps lock conveys how ominous it sounded to our kids as I rolled out the plan.
Here's the plan: With the exception of the trips we've planned, the kids will do chores and homework in the morning and be bored the rest of the day. If they tell me they are bored then I will have them wash walls or pull weeds. I explained the goal of this summer is to invent, create, and think...about, something, nothing, or everything with the goal being to connect to each other and the world around them and to make their own idyllic memories.
I assure you I am waaaaaaay more excited for this summer then they are.
The morning of Day One has been peaceful. M has spent a chunk of time at the piano and the boys worked on a word search together. Wish us luck!
D showed me this bucket list he made with his teacher before school let out. I think we can accommodate these things quite nicely.
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