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.

It's good for children not to have very minute filled with activity. A bit of boredom is fine, although they tend to find me and say "I'm bored!"

Yes kids absolutely need to be bored as it encourages them to reach for other things. I banned screentime in a morning as I was fed up with having issues as we left the house and the results have amazed me. Every morning my son gets out his pens and draws or reads a book, which often then inspires him to draw the book characters....both much more fulfilling passtimes than playing on his tablet!

I think it is important to create that balance as if they are bored it can help children think things up themselves. x

Learning to manage their own time is an important skill for children to learn.

Being bored and then having to find something to do is good for children so long as they have the resources to amuse themselves as in books, construction and craft toys, games, dressing up, garden toys, etc. When I was bored and whining as a kid, Mum would likely give me a duster and the polish so I quickly learned to find things to do. I think that is why I now read, sew, cook, paint etc. Hobbies come through not constantly using screens or being micro managed by parents.

No because boredom leads to mischief.

Definitely!! I have 2 kids who are completely different, 1st child was spoilt in a way as he had me to himself for 5 years and he was really attached to me so we did everything together and now he can't be bored, he doesn't know what to do with himself. Whereas my youngest was a bit more free and if she gets bored she finds herself something to do out of nothing really, whether its singing to herself or going to find some crayons and paper and just sitting there colouring, her imagination is a bit more wild than my eldest too, she'll make up stories and play them out with her character figures

I think it’s good to be a bit bored helps them to use there imagination and invent their own fun games

My oldest is really good at thinking up games and creative things when it’s non planned time.
My younger two follow her lead often but with a bit of encouragement will think of their own things. I do give my kids a fair bit of after school unstructured time so they can be creative :)

Being bored is very good for children imo. They need to find things to do independantly and also to learn that life isn't one enormous social whirl laid on for them

being bored inspires creativity

too many screens/tablets/computer games de-spires
take all electronics away and leave out paper and pens - we made a huge fish collage and one of those hand folded paper choice things with flaps

I don't think kids should have every minute planned for them, so I suppose sometimes they can get bored, but they do have to learn to entertain themselves.

I think it's important for children to be able to find things to do for themselves and not rely or expect adults to organise fun stuff for them all the time. We can suggest things, or even better get them to suggest fun activities for themselves.

@Fresheyre guilty of filling every hour of our children's lives - school, activities, sport, family stuff and any 'down time' ends up being in front of a screen.

This is a problem I agree so much.
Drawing activities are attractive as they are actually quite contained unlike dancing/ theatre/tree climbing/ mud pies.

If kids never got bored, they would not learn different things and would be stuck doing the same thing, day in day out. They need to feel a mix of everything, and feel able to find themselves something to do on their own.

Yes! Boredom is the midwife for creativity!

I think boredom gives the opportunity for a child to be creative, I find my girls play very well when they just come up with ideas to pass the time, it gives them the chance to made up games, put on plays and dances and I don't feel like I have to plan every minute of their holidays, I say let them come up with ideas ( with safety of course lol) and they can be free to create .
😊

'Boredom' is an opportunity for quiet time, of for time to think, or time to start creating.....

Boredom is something we all experience and for children I don't really see that it is good or bad. They tend not to dwell on it too long and will think of something they would like to do. Out of boredom comes creativity and their imaginations lead to infinite and wonderful things that occupy their time.

i think its important for kids to be able to entertain themselves away from electrical devices. When my kids say they are bored i say 'only boring people get bored!' and encourage them to think of something to do.
I normally find suggesting chores or asking them to help make dinner normally encourages them to find something to occupy them selves with away from the TV and their phones/tablets

Actually being bored isn't a good thing, but that's because I fail to see how they can really be bored when they have so much "stuff" at their disposal! I don't recall ever being bored when I was a child - and I grew up pretty much like an only child, given that my siblings were much older - if I wasn't reading a book or making up games with my dolls, I was climbing a tree in the back garden or doing gymnastics everywhere! When I was older I would knock for my friends and we'd go out on our bikes or to play in each others' gardens. Kids today have so much more entertainment - mine alone have two bookcases full of books, shelves of DVDs, cable TV, Netflix, umpteen games consoles, as well as bikes to play out on and numerous friends in the area. So I don't hold much store by the wail "I'm bored!" as I don't think it should be possible.

I think children should learn to entertain themselves when bored.

I agree kids definitely need time and space to themselves - it’s stretches their imagination and creativity in amazing ways. The first couple of days of our school holidays were quite tedious because they had all this time and didn’t know what to do, but then they wandered outside and started building things in the garden “it’s our work, mummy”, and later, inside, my daughter spends ages before bed drawing pictures as she narrates her own stories to accompany them (& has plans to write a book!)

I don't think they need to be bored but I do think it's important to let them learn how to entertain themselves with free play and craft and imaginary play.

Yes I do think it's good for kids to be bored. I watch my kids and their need to be constantly entertained, which is so different from my generation. I think kids of this generation need to have periods of being bored to experience a shift and allow them to just 'be'. I would love to see all children being taught mindfulness and the art of being present. Obviously, I know the boredom element can be a drain for parents and it's so much easier to allow them screen time. But I really do think we need to get children back to being how we were as kids, spending huge amounts of time out in the fresh air and learning life skills well away from their tablets, laptops and smartphones.