Boredom is the wellspring of our children’s creativity
Travel schooling our children for a year allowed us to discover the immense value in letting them feel under-stimulated often
“I am bo-o-o-red!” is our children’s favourite tantrum. All tantrums, including adult ones, are merely an attempt to seek attention. It is well established that allowing a pause between a tantrum and parents' intervention allows children the necessary space to self-soothe. A crescendo of shrieks usually deteriorating into a meltdown, this tantrum too can sometimes have a surprising result on the child if we take a step back.
Boredom is nothing but the lack of stimuli for the child’s mental faculties. In other words, when they are bored, their minds are merely under-stimulated. Contrary to popular parenting beliefs, for children in particular, times when they are complaining of boredom have the potential to result in highly creative learning.
Self-proclaimed bored children devise unusual ways of entertaining themselves and their siblings. One such boredom-led creative play we observed during our travel schooling months is pretend play. All young children play pretend games. Their scripted plots range from role plays with imaginary friends to situations they have witnessed in real life. Once we began to simply let our children figure out their own ways out of their boredom, we noticed that they began to play pretend games more often.
Pretend play or the ability to run thought experiments has been linked to the development of a complex imagination and creative genius.
The truly magical thing about boredom though is that the depth, quality and elaborateness of their improvisations became dramatically more creative as we left them to their own devices for a little bit longer than comfortable. For example, ever since we watched Frozen II in Singapore last year, Elsa, Anna, Olaf and the whole gang has traveled with us around the world. In the picture above, you see my daughters pretending to be Elsa and Anna, costumes cobbled up with bed runner and bath towels provided in the villa, and imagining a walk through the enchanted forest. Only difference, this forest is a garden in tropical Bali. Boredom, often fueled by the lack of too many toys, encourages them to use interesting props and sheer make believe. If only we let their young minds get bored and then more bored.
Chunks of time when children are only twiddling thumbs are important.
These are the spaces in which they are forced to imagine beyond what is visible and obvious. Gradually, the mind begins to unlearn the limits it has placed on what is possible. Truly original thinking begins to take place, and one day in the most mundane of circumstances, it springs at parents like a jack-in-the-box.
Several weeks after the picture above was taken in Bali, while visiting grandparents in India, I gave my daughters company for an early dinner. Samaa said something in English, to which Sanaa responded, “Anna, we don’t speak English. Please tell me in Arendellel.” Without batting an eyelid, Samaa repeated her sentence in what sounded like gibberish to me. Yet, the girls erupted in animated conversation in Arendellel leaving me amused but clueless for the rest of dinner!
