![]() When they constantly say school’s boring or ‘stupid’ it can be part of a pattern of negative thinking.” Some kids who complain they’re bored in school tend to focus on the negative, Mackenzie says. When the timer goes off, check on them, gradually increasing the time they spend alone. Set the timer for a bit longer than your children can normally work by themselves and help them plan their study agenda, she says. “A parent might say, ‘You’re not doing that right.’” “When kids doing homework need their parents too much, there are often conflicts,” says Mackenzie. The timer technique also works with homework, she says. She tells parents to set a timer for different amounts of time to get children used to playing alone. “I ask them, ‘What can you do to help yourself wait?’” She suggests activities kids can do by themselves, such as coloring and playing with Legos. MacKenzie likes to help young children learn strategies to avoid boredom and stay busy. “Watching TV and playing video games are highly entertaining but passive activities.” You don’t need attention skills for them, says MacKenzie, and they won’t help your children learn to sidestep boredom. That’s often because they’ve had too much screen time, she contends. “Kids these days haven’t had practice entertaining themselves.” “Sometimes boredom has to do with being independent and organizing activities,” she says. Elizabeth MacKenzie, a child and adolescent psychologist in West Seattle. On the other hand, the “BOR-ing” buzzword can mean something else entirely, claims Dr. “Ask your child, ‘What’s boring? What did you do for this lesson? Were you done before the other kids?’” The best way to find that out is by asking questions, Kassow says. Maybe your student’s learning style doesn’t jibe with the instructor’s teaching style. “Create a pathway for him so he can understand how to put the project in order.” “We should take that role whether we’re the parent, the teacher or the tutor.” Help your child through the report process, step by step, he suggests. The topic’s interesting, and your child is enthusiastic about the project. Let’s say your child is doing a report on bees. On the other hand, he might need more guidance, says Taylor, as in “I kind of understand this, but I don’t know where to start. There’s no incentive to do this when I already know I can,’” Taylor says. “What he might mean is, ‘This doesn’t engage me. Maybe he’s trying to tell you that he's bored because his classwork isn’t challenging. “Often, boredom is a signal that your child needs to be redirected.” What does it really mean?” asks Bryan Taylor, president of Partnership for Learning, a national nonprofit that helps schools and communities work to boost learning. Then there’s the child who claims he’s bored at school. “Ask your preschooler, ‘What’s your favorite book? If you could buy anything at the grocery store, what would it be?’” Give her little projects, such as counting how many apples are in the fridge or how many chairs are in the house. “Devise a list of conversation starters,” Meisner says. Then it’s the parent’s job to come up with ideas. “If a very young child says she’s bored, she often means, ‘I don’t like what I’m doing right now,’” says Leslie Meisner, program manager for early learning in the Tacoma School District. “And sometimes, it’s a child’s way of telling a parent, ‘ I want you to pay attention to me.’” ![]() “Sometimes children say they’re bored because they need direction or activity ideas from their parents,” Kassow notes. What’s more, the word "bored" means different things to different kids - at different times. Even in an iPod, Xbox, DVD world, “boredom” persists in the tot-through-teen lexicon. Parents still loathe hearing the “B” word, and kids still pull it out of their complaint repertoire. Not much has changed since Kassow was a child. “Parents feel that kids are lucky to be kids.” “My mother would tell me, ‘Go play, go find something to do!’” says Kassow, research and development manager for Thrive By Five Washington. Danielle Kassow was growing up, every now and then she’d grumble, “I’m bored!” Few things irritated her mother more. ![]()
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