Comments on: Daddy, I’m bored

By: Goodbye, pay-to-watch TV (at least for now)! « Ever zigged when you should have zagged?

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:25:00 +0000

[...] time she spends letting her precious brain atrophy. That incident was clear in my mind when I read this post and heard the unspoken context of Anna’s laments echo in my head — “Entertain [...]

By: Weekly Roundup 27 April | frugalandthriving.com.au

Weekly Roundup 27 April | frugalandthriving.com.au — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 21:08:34 +0000

[...] consider living the “simple life”, then have a look at why Frugal Dad has had enough, and why Daddy, I’m Bored (on The Wisdom Journal) is a common refrain in our overstimulated [...]

By: Rana

Rana — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:31:32 +0000

We were never allowed to say we were bored when we were kids. If we did my mom would find some sort of cleaning project for me or my sister to do. We always made sure we had something to occupy our time, even if it was just sitting on the porch watching the world go by.

I find myself doing that now with my kids. I’ll say lets have some quiet time and we just sit together and look out the window , or lay in the grass. My son at 6 has even turned off the t.v. and said mom it’s too much noise let’s have quiet time. They dont know what it means to be bored. Because they realize they don’t always have to be doing something.

By: Weekend Links

Weekend Links — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 08:02:31 +0000

[...] Daddy, I’m Bored :: The Wisdom Journal [...]

By: Debbie

Debbie — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:30:55 +0000

Good post. I remember wondering around the house when I was a kid saying I was bored and I’d get put to work by my dad. There was always cars to wash, grass to cut or rooms to clean. If I managed to duck that bullet, I was always able to find something quiet to do to avoid having to do work. I’d read a book, make a puzzle or just go for a walk.

My kids are now at the stage where they are ‘bored’ all the time. I find myself saying to them the same things my father and mother said to me when I was bored. I find myself glad they are bored. It’s seems those are the time when they become the most creative.

LP’s rule about not being able to say I’m bored may just be a new rule in my house now too. I like it.

By: Kate

Kate — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:38:37 +0000

I love this post! It reminds me of the time when I forced my husband to watch one of those Jane Austen movies with me and afterwards, he looks at me and says, “Didn’t they get bored back then?” Personally, I think we all need to take a little time out from all the entertainment, stop checking the black berries, and just spend some time doing nothing. That time you get to clear your mind and relax is something we have devalued in our current go-go-go culture. It reminds me of one of the tips I read in a book I just read, too, called The Power of Small, where they say to “give yourself a minute”. We all need a chance to get bored, get creative, daydream, and entertain ourselves for a change.

By: Jeff@MySuperChargedLife

Jeff@MySuperChargedLife — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:59:55 +0000

Great article! I really agree with this one and it isn’t just kids that fall into this trap. It seems that most of us are over stimulated and expect to be constantly entertained. The noise of life robs us of true pleasure. Ron, you’ve hit the nail squarely on the head here!

By: V. Higgins

V. Higgins — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:41:01 +0000

I love this post! When my husband and I were planning our honeymoon we decided that rather than attempt a trip to Hawaii or stay at the Grand Californian in Disneyland (a dream of mine) that instead, we wanted to 1) go someplace nearby that we could re-visit again without great expense and wouldn’t take hours of travel and 2) we wanted to just relax. I knew that if we went somewhere like Hawaii or even Disneyland (I’ve been so many times that I could mentally walk you through the entire park with each attraction and store) that I would want to “do”, I would feel obligated to “make the most of it”. After a year of wedding planning, family stress, adjusting to being out of college, the last thing I wanted on my honeymoon was to “do”. We went to a little coastal town, stayed at a B&B and mostly read, walked and relaxed together. We spent one day walking along the coast to the aquarium, but other than that, it was a heavenly 5 days of doing nothing. I couldn’t have asked for a better honeymoon.
Anyway, sorry for the long post but I just wanted to illustrate how doing nothing can be the best vacation of all.

By: NMPatricia

NMPatricia — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:33:16 +0000

I agree with Melissa. It isn’t only the kids. Maybe my kids were able to find things that interested them. They didn’t have TV when they were growing up and reading was big – that and Leggos. However, I have found myself being “bored”. I know that is silly. I have “work” to do, projects to be done (that I chose), and wonderful things outdoors. However, I think it is overstimulation and the expectation that everything is wonderful and exciting 100% of the time. It is addictive – adrenalin rushes and spikes are. I am finding that I need to just appreciate the moment and not be doing something that provides a rush all the time. And learning how to do that without consuming is tough. (How pathetic does all that sound?)

By: Alison Wiley

Alison Wiley — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 11:51:33 +0000

I agree that we’re overly entertained and need to take it all down a notch. It also sounds to me from your comment like you’re raising a very cool kid. I want to play outdoors with him!