Momservation: Boredom is wasted on the young.
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Today is our first official day of summer.
The kids are already bored.
I’ve even got the dog dropping her ball at my feet, the Labrador equivalent to: I’m bored.
I’ve already threatened the kids that if they ask me, “What are we going to do today?” like I’m Julie Fricken McCoy, Cruise Director from The Love Boat, I’ve got a summer’s worth of chores to answer their question.
I predict they’ll be cleaning out their closets by noon.
When I was their age, you high-tailed it out of the house before Mom caught you lounging around watching Love Boat reruns or else you would be put to work.
Then she would lock the door behind us and we knew the answer to question What are we going to do today? was entirely up to us until we found the door unlocked again at dinnertime.
Mom doesn’t remember doing this, but my brother will back me up on this.
I’m not a door locker (though I have been tempted), preferring instead what I like to call the Art of Distraction. It has worked well for me long after the toddler years when this was my only game plan.
Besides a few camps throughout the summer that entertains them and saves my sanity, I organize Fun Wednesdays as our summer distraction. We do something fun together every Wednesday and invite any friends who want to join us to come along. We’ll go to the movies, the lake, the river, roller skating, ice skating, a water park, miniature golfing, a trampoline place, bowling…anywhere that gives us something to look forward to.
I end up really enjoying playing with the kids, plus it’s another weapon against boredom besides the threat of chores.
By placing it in the middle of the week you can say on Monday: “I’m taking you to (fill in the blank) on Wednesday, what more do you want from me?”
Then on Friday when they’re whining again about being bored you can say: “I just took you to (fill in the blank) on Wednesday! What more do you want from me?”
And if they still dare to ask, “What are we going to do today?”
Then they’re gambling that there just might be a click behind them when they walk out the door to water and weed the garden.