Listen to the podcast: Curing Summer Boredom
Written by: Suzanna Smith, Ph.D. and Donna Davis, M.S.
When my children were young, it became the clarion call of the summer. When school lets out and the lazy days of summer roll in, children welcome more freedom—at least for a while. But after the novelty of summer vacation wears off, parents may hear the familiar refrain as younger children try to figure out what to do with unstructured time (Jansek).
Parents may be inclined to solve this problem for their children, but having unscheduled time
and even being bored seem to push children to think on their own and learn to be resourceful (Carlson, 2004; Tufts, n.d.). Educators suggest that, as much as possible, parents let summer be a time for children to play hard, be creative, and explore.
Parents can provide a setting for children to play and express themselves,
while still making sure that their children are safe. If your children are at home during the summer, consider the following:
- Encourage physical activity. Children enjoy swimming, biking, basketball, skateboarding, and other activities.
- Provide a few basic resources—a variety of books, art supplies, writing materials, and a few games.
- Avoid turning on the TV or computer games, or limit the time spent in these activities. Let your child develop her or his own creative thinking.
- Help your child get outdoors, even in your own back yard. Plant a garden or nurture a flower box or houseplant.
- Go to the library, collect books for summer reading and ideas for activities.
Summer activities don’t have to be costly or extravagant to cure the summer doldrums!
Listening, learning and living together, it’s the science of life. “Family Album” is a co-production of University of Florida IFAS Extension, the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences and of WUFT-FM. If you’d like to learn more, please visit our website at familyalbumradio.org.
References
Carlson, K. (2004). Why can’t this kid find something to do? Minneapolis: Center for Early Education and Development, University of Minnesota. Retrieved June 8, 2006.
Jamsek, M. (n.d.) Beating summer boredom. Yout-T, Austin: University ofTexas.Kaiser, M. (n.d.). Beat summer boredom. Parenting Again, 32. University of Illinois Extension. Retrieved May 3, 2005 from www.extension.uiuc.edu.
Weiss, M. (2001, August). The new summer break. American Demographics. [Electronic version]. Retrieved June 13, 2005.
Resources to Cure Summer Boredom
For more suggestions about how to handle children’s summer boredom, see:Carlson, K. (2004). Why can’t this kid find something to do? Minneapolis: Center for Early Education and Development, University of Minnesota. Retrieved June 8, 2006.
DeGaetano, G. (n.d.) What to do about boredom. Seattle: Lincoln Park Preschool.
Donovan, D. How to banish summer boredom. iVillage.co.uk.
Goff, K. G. (2001, August). Banishing boredom. The Washington Times.Jamsek, M. (n.d.) Beating summer boredom, You-T. Austin: University of Texas.
Buddy2 (a cool site for kids). Top 10 ways to prevent summer boredom. Retrieved June 14, 2005.
