Is it good for kids to be bored? Share your thoughts with BIC KIDS for the chance to win a £300 voucher - PLUS enter this year’s drawing competition!

[EmmaMumsnet]

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In celebration of the launch of the BIC KIDS Young Artist Award created to help children across the nation conquer their boredom over the summer months, we’re keen to hear your opinions on whether you think boredom is good for children and what you do when “I’m bored” strikes.

We are partnering with BIC KIDS again this year to challenge all budding artists aged between 5-11 to create their most imaginative drawings for a chance to see their artwork displayed on a huge billboard! Entries are open from Monday 2nd July – Sunday 5th August and 13 talented finalists will be selected by a panel of experts to represent their region in a public vote.

Rebecca Huda, BIC® UK and Ireland’s Stationery Product Manager says: “We’re delighted to be returning with our BIC® KIDS Young Artist Award for 2018. Last year’s competition was a great success and we were overwhelmed by the quality of the artwork we received. We can’t wait for this year’s imaginative entries to start pouring in, ready to be displayed across the country, there’ll be some proud parents for sure.”

As well as the priceless opportunity to have their drawings published, the 13 deserving finalists will win a hamper full of BIC® KIDS goodies, with the crowned champion receiving their very own creative arts party!

Once your children have created their masterpieces, you can enter them into the competition easily and quickly by visiting bickids.com/uk/youngartistaward and uploading the artwork before the deadline on Sunday 5th August.

Everyone who posts on this thread to share their thoughts on boredom and/or to share the drawing they have entered into the competition will be entered into a prize draw to win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

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NB - you will only be entered into the BIC KIDS drawing competition by submitting your drawing via the link above. However, we also encourage you to share your drawings on this thread to be entered into the £300 voucher prize draw.

I don't think it does them any harm now and again. Surely it will just encourage them to use their own imaginations. I am sure I can think of a few things for them to do over the holidays if they find themselves bored at anytime.

Children don't need to be stimulated all of the time and after thinking they are "bored" will usually find something to do or do some imaginative play, they learn to think more for themselves

As other posters have already said, I think children need to learn how to entertain themselves & I believe that we shouldn't always jump in with a way of solving their 'boredom' for them.

On long journeys, for example, it could be very tempting to use portable DVD players, handheld consoles, etc, but we have gone down the route of music CDs, audio CDs & games ('I went to market & I bought', etc.). My dd (14 & with SEN) & ds (12) can both do a four hour journey quite happily using a mixture of these (with comfort breaks, of course ).

We do plan activities during the school holidays, but we also plan plenty of days with no preplanned or organised activities, so that they have the chance to choose activities, games, etc, for themselves.

I think that it is natural for kids to be bored. Life is not always exciting as there are 'boring' times. When children do get bored, then they often use their imagination to come up with new games and activities to do.

I think it's an opportunity to encourage kids to think for themselves and not expect to have entertainment opportunities thrust upon them, so yes, it's not a bad thing.

As for adults, a bit - boredom spurs you into action.

Boredom is sometimes a good thing. Children will use their initiative to discover something to do instead of zoning out in front of the tv. It can spark creativity and imagination.

Boredom to a degree is good I think, as it gives children the ability to entertain themselves. It's healthy for them to understand that life isn't and shouldn't be all about technology and mum and dad having to spend money to appease boredom

I don't think it is necessary to fill the days/hours with organised activities. Bored children should be able to devise ways to entertain themselves (read, draw, play with toys, find/invent games). Being left to their own devices in a secure environment is good for children.

I think it's absolutely ok for children to be bored, for if they aren't, how do they express their creative side and imagination? My 3 boys all love arts and crafts, they love just drawing on days where we don't have much time or opportunity to get all our bits and bobs out, and others we have everything out and cover the dining room in rolls of ribbon, crepe paper and glitter! they make cards for family members, make clay/playdoh models or figures and then they have the effort times when we're making king capes or superhero masks! Some times I encourage them to make what they feel they are capable to with minimal help.....others I get more creative and stuck in than them! Haha

I allow my daughter to get bored. Although structure and routine is important for children it's also good to let them have time to find something to occupy themselves with, allowing them some freedom and time for discovery

We haven't got to the age of boredom yet so I can't comment, but I can say that in my own experience as a child, boredom caused me to make my own fun. I would paint, draw, climb trees, and sometimes go paddle my feet in the ford down the road which was full of small fish. These were things that my mum never would have suggested - she usually just sat us in front of the TV and left it at that. I think boredom really pushed me to find my own interests and it's these memories that I hold dearest.

I think it's essential for children to be bored, perhaps not regularly but they do need to reach the point eventually where they think they have nothing to do. This gives them the opportunity to expand their imagination and creativity and come up with something to do, they'll feel satisfaction and achievment in doing so and what they've started will probably lead onto other things! I'm a childminder, mostly to pre-school
children, and although i provide toys, craft materials, learning resources and routines...i see great value in free play. The children play outside with each other, they have created role-play games and learned social skills in the process. By not opening the toy shed and filling the garden with an assortment of game opportunities I leave them to their own devices in a sense and they make their own entertainment (i am always there though and of couse we do get to empty the shed regularly!). My oldest daughter will occasionally mump and moan that she's bored but shortly after she's found herself immersed in a project! It's a long winded way of saying children don't need entertainment and activities drafted up for them, they need opportunities to be creative themselves and become confident, respected and responsible individuals :)

I think boredom is good
When mine are bored they soon find a book to read or they might end up chatting amongst themselves and that leads to a comic being made or dens being built towns being created with all sorts of toys.
It helps reveal their personalities- who is happy to chill with a book, which one is an instigator who is the creative one

We have a bored board, if they are moaning that they are bored then they need to complete something off there, it has drastically reduced the whining about being bored and occasionally I get a job completed - win win!

Bored board includes stuff like hoover your bedroom, dust the lounge, tidy the garden toys etc

I think boredom encourages creativity

Kids definitely need downtime ie time away from structured activities and away from tv/Xbox so they can be creative and think for themselves. Their definition of being bored and mine are quite different though- loving the idea upthread about a bored board - might steal that one!

I think it’s good for kids to be bored now and then as it makes them more imaginative, able to entertain themselves and be more independent. Life can sometimes be boring and so it prepares them for later life!

I think it does no harm for children to have to invent their own games and amusement from time to time rather than be entertained constantly by screen time, outings and play dates.

Yes. Not all the time or togerher necessarily but sometimes yes.

Yes, I think being bored is useful and productive. It either teaches you life is not all about you and that sometimes you have to be quiet and still because other people need you to be (e.g. meetings, journeys, etc.) or prompts them to do something creative or problem solve to find something to relieve the boredom. Twice a year we go on a longish drive to get to and from our holiday destinations. We don't provide dvds or tablets, etc. It's music and their own thoughts. Sometimes the best games and projects are a rest of being bored. I think saying "I'm bored" can often just mean "entertain" me and while that is sometimes appropriate entertaining yourself teaches independence.

So far my DC haven't discovered boredom. Perhaps they're too little. Taking them anywhere is like herding cats and they find everything interesting (worms, searching for thing to buy/eat in supermarkets, puddles, etc). Rather than talking about boredom I notice they fight with one another if they have too much time to have unstructured play. In those times I try to suggest that they each do something in a separate room. Getting a pot of pens out usually solves anything.

I remember being bored when I was a child and my mum telling me I was boring!
My dd is the same as me, I found it hard to occupy myself but I did love to read. I’m guilty of trying to do too much and make too many plans with the kids but actually, they need some time to be bored. Hopefully this will encourage dd to occupy herself a bit more.

"I'm bored" is a relatively new complaint round here. Can't say it worries me - there's plenty to do in our house, and it's not my job to be the one coming up with all the ideas. It never lasts long anyway - there are always books to be read if nothing else.

Yes, my nana had a saying there is no such thing as being bored, just boring people! I think it does children good to start thinking of how to entertain themselves instead of relying on others and 'stuff' for stimulus.