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matt_outandabout - Member^crispin has it. Let them be bored. It is painful, but you only learn creativity by being bored - and the wider mental health benefits of it as massive for teens/tweens...
Furthermore they also need to get tired (physically, not sleep) on a regular basis, as this is great for them physcially and mentally.
And they also could do with getting cold regularly, as this mahoooosively boosts the teen immune system.
So all our kids need to be bored, cold and tired. It is good for them
oooh, and another one. They need to do big physical work as well, to develop proprioceptive sense.
like every child they like to manipulate
Er.. yeah.. what a lovely outlook you must have on family life...
Its actually quite healthy for kids to be bored. They need it as part of their development. It helps their their imagination and creativity, which is seriously suffering because parents constantly seem to feel the need to entertain them. Its not doing them any favours, long term.
As for not having the same childhood as we had. Why the hell not? My kids disappear off into the woods behind our house for hours with their mates, building dens, and rope swings, playing football, and only reappear (usually covered in mud) to be (frequently) fed. Or they'll sit drawing or reading for hours.
There childhood seems pretty much identical to mine, except when they get in later, theres a better choice of telly
With kids having access to everything they want/need entertainment wise (for the most part) in seconds via the internet they just need to get used to waiting for stuff.
I remember my grandad droning on about how there was no TV in his day, and how they had to make their own entertainment.
Plus ca change...
It's mom in the Midlands, mam in the north, mum in the south. Get used to it cockneys
Balls! I grew up in Leicester but have lived in Yorkshire for the past 15/20 years. It's mum, Fact!
😉
Airgun. That'll keep occupied until he discovers motorbikes or girls (or both).