“You’ve played video games all day, why don’t you go outside?” The familiar cry of the summertime parent. This inevitably leads to “Mom, I’m bored!” The call of the summertime blues! And we haven’t gotten through the first week of summer break! Sound familiar?! Early on, we established two basic rules that saved our parental sanity and made our children good stewards of their summer… time.
As a child I was outside all day, every day in the summer. I wasn’t allowed any TV until after dinner, and maybe Saturday morning cartoons, which were over by noon. We had 3 TV channels, so there wasn’t much to watch, anyhow. And we only had one TV, which my dad claimed quickly for sports. Mom wanted us out of the house, we didn’t have a ton of toys in our room. My family didn’t have video games until I was well into high school, and they certainly didn’t have the graphics and intricacies of today’s games! So, I was outside riding bikes, on the swing set, and hanging with the neighborhood kids. Now, most of those kids are indoors playing video games, and watching TV in their rooms, or playing on their laptops or iPads. While we did have those items, we limited our children’s time on them. It’s healthy to be outside! So, that’s where I want them!
To solve this issue, our first rule was developed. For every hour of outside time, they earned 1 hour of screen time. This included handheld games (at the time they had DSs, now it would be the Switch), computer, TV, video games, or tablets. (They did not have cell phones or smartphones, at the time. We did not allow those until 8th grade and those were allowed, as long as they were outside. But, we are talking younger kids, so that isn’t part of this discussion.) It started with outside time first, in order to earn the screen time. There was a limit of 1 hour on the screen time no matter how long they were outside. However, they were allowed to go outside for 15 minutes, or half an hour, to earn smaller increments of equal TV time. This was to encourage them to go outside when they didn’t feel like it, and for our one daughter who overheats easily. Often, though, they would plan for 15 minutes or half an hour, and it would stretch longer. Limiting it to an hour of screen time broke up their day more and meant they had to go back outside to earn more.
The small print included such things as they had to earn their own time, they could exchange or share each other’s time. They were allowed to use their earned screen time at any time, use part now and part later, however, they could never have more than an hour earned at any one at any one time. And, of course, mom had final discretion over all rules!
With 5 kids, they are bound to quarrel, get on each other's nerves, or press each other’s buttons for fun. There are bound to be days when they are just contrary or moody! Heat does that to kids, sometimes. So, if they were getting along, playing video games or watching a movie, I would just let them keep going. Quiet kids getting along for that long?! Priceless!! They soon caught on and would make an extra effort to get along so that they could keep playing or watching. They thought they were being sneaky! But they were using teamwork! It worked so well! Mom had quiet, kids were getting along, kids were occupied, kids were being good! Kids were having fun and making memories! This didn’t happen daily, of course, so I didn’t mind when it did happen. There were also days when they just didn’t care about their screen time and stayed outside or read in their room, instead. Or, read outside. Our son read on the swings often, and our oldest daughter would balance on the cement wall as she read her books. That’s another post for another time, though.
Our second rule that has been absolutely brilliant and adopted by so many other mothers I have mentioned it to… If I hear, “I’m bored”, I’ll give them something to do. That is usually a chore. I have not heard, “Mom, I’m bored” or “There’s nothing to do.” in YEARS! Seriously! It took no more than two times of being given a chore and they learned! They tried, “Mom, tell me something to do, but not a chore.” I simply suggest several of my chores that I hadn’t gotten to, yet. That actually sometimes worked! We did have a list of things they could do around the house and yard that weren’t typical chores, which they could earn commission. If they were saving up for something AND they were bored, they’d check that list. Amazing what boredom can do for a mother’s chore list and a child’s bank!
These two rules worked very well. They learned to think creatively or find something to do. If they were really bored, and really weren’t interested in anything, they might actually check the commission list. We had a nice collection of board games, and visited the library weekly, so they often could convince one or two siblings to play a game, or they would read books for the library summer reading program. Then, of course, on days when they were very good and I was able to be productive, and Dad came home to a good report, we could go for a special treat. This could be anything from a family bike ride or walk, setting up the sprinkler, to a trip to the ice cream parlor, or a nice drive through the metroparks. Anything DIFFERENT from the everyday.
What are your favorite boredom busters for your family?!
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