一位拥有六个孩子的母亲分享了她鼓励孩子“无聊”的育儿哲学。她认为，在快节奏、活动安排满满的现代社会，刻意留白，让孩子体验无聊，能有效激发他们的创造力、独立性和解决问题的能力。与填鸭式地安排活动不同，无聊能够促使孩子们自主探索兴趣，发展自我娱乐的技能，甚至学习与兄弟姐妹协作。这种育儿方式不仅减轻了父母的压力，也让孩子在自由的探索中获得宝贵的成长经历，培养出适应未来社会所需的核心能力。最终，她发现这种“放任”的育儿方式，反而带来了更深刻的亲子连接和更美好的夏日回忆。

💡 **无聊是创造力的催化剂**：当孩子感到无聊时，他们会主动寻找消遣方式，从而激发内在的创造力。文章作者的孩子们会自己搭建“沙发靠垫堡垒”，创作故事，甚至在后院经营起“假装餐厅”，这些都是在缺乏外部刺激的情况下，自主探索和创造力的体现。

🔑 **培养独立解决问题的能力**：允许孩子经历无聊，实际上是在训练他们解决问题的能力和独立性。他们不会依赖电子产品来打发时间，而是需要自己思考如何填充空闲，如何与他人合作，以及如何发现自己的兴趣所在。这种能力对于他们未来的人生至关重要。

🧘‍♀️ **减轻父母的育儿压力**：夏季育儿常常让父母感到疲惫不堪，需要不断安排活动。接受并鼓励孩子体验无聊，可以显著减轻父母的压力。父母可以将精力从“活动策划者”转变为“陪伴者”，与孩子共度高质量的亲子时光，如一起阅读或享受简单的外出。

🗓️ **灵活的结构而非完全放任**：鼓励无聊并不意味着完全没有计划。作者的家庭依然保持着基本的日常节奏，包括家务、户外活动和家庭用餐。但同时，日程表中留有大量“空白时间”，允许孩子们自由安排，这种有意识的留白是关键。

As a mom of six kids, summer can be stressful. Trying to fill their days with activities can be exhausting, so I stopped. I want them to get bored.Boredom encourages my kids to develop problem-solving skills and independence.

I'm a mom of six, their ages ranging from toddlers to teens, and every summer I make a choice that surprises a lot of people: I don't plan every moment of their days. In fact, I fully expect them to get bored.

At first glance, that might sound like lazy parenting, especially in a world where Pinterest-perfect summer schedules and curated camps seem to be the norm. But after years of trial and error, I've realized that leaving space for boredom actually makes our summers better. Not just for my kids, but for me, too.

Boredom breeds creativity

When my oldest kids were younger, I felt a lot of pressure to keep them entertained around the clock. I'd pack our days with activities including trips to the zoo, messy crafts, and themed library events. I thought boredom meant I wasn't doing enough as a parent. But what I didn't realize was that in trying to fill all the gaps, I wasn't leaving room for them to figure out what they truly enjoyed.

Now, when my kids complain that they're bored, I don't rush to fix it. I tell them, "That's okay. You'll figure something out." And they do. They've built elaborate forts out of couch cushions, written stories, taught themselves card tricks, and even started a pretend backyard restaurant complete with a hand-drawn menu. Those moments of self-directed play and creativity wouldn't happen if I handed them a constant stream of activities.

And honestly, I think there's a reason we 90s kids have such fond memories of our unplugged summers. Long afternoons with nothing but a bike, a sprinkler, and a wild imagination taught us independence and left us with the kind of nostalgia you can't recreate with a perfectly curated schedule.

It teaches problem-solving and independence

Boredom also forces my kids to practice important life skills like problem-solving and independence. They don't simply escape into electronics for entertainment. Instead, they're left with the space to figure things out for themselves — how to fill their time, what interests them, and how to work with others to make it happen. When they don't have a structured plan handed to them, they have to think about what they want to do, negotiate with siblings, and sometimes compromise.

As a mom, I want my kids to grow up knowing how to entertain themselves, manage their time, and think outside the box, because those skills matter far beyond childhood. If they can learn to handle downtime now, it will serve them well as adults who won't always have instant stimulation or someone telling them what to do next.

It eases the pressure on parents

Let's be honest, summers can feel like a marathon for parents. Between work, household responsibilities, and everything else on our plates, the expectation to create a perfect summer can be overwhelming.

Embracing boredom lifts that pressure. It allows me to focus on spending quality time with my kids — reading together on the porch, making spontaneous ice cream runs, or just being present — instead of running myself ragged trying to orchestrate constant entertainment.

We still have structure, but it's flexible

Letting my kids get bored doesn't mean we have zero structure. We still have a loose daily rhythm with chores, outside time, and family meals. We sprinkle in occasional outings like swimming or visiting grandparents. But there's plenty of open space on the calendar, and that space is intentional.

The payoff is worth it

By the end of every summer, my kids have usually made memories, strengthened their sibling relationships, and discovered new hobbies, and they've done it largely on their own. I've also gained the peace of knowing I'm not their cruise director. I'm their mom, guiding them to grow into capable, creative humans.

So yes, in our house, boredom isn't a problem. It's the starting point for curiosity, creativity, and connection. Sometimes the best summer memories are the ones that come from simply having the freedom to do nothing at all.