Let Your Kids Be Bored (It Might Be the Best Thing You Do)
Why Kids Need Boredom More Than Screens
Yesterday I took my kids for a walk in the woods.
We’ve been busy lately, and I haven’t been able to do that as much as I’d like. But every time we go, I’m reminded how simple it is—and how much it matters.
At one point, I was feeling a little tired, so I said,
“Let’s sit here for a minute.”
We found a log. The sun was coming through the trees. Birds were everywhere.
It was quiet in the way that doesn’t feel empty. It felt full.
About a minute later, my son said,
“Okay… can we keep moving?”
That moment right there—that’s the whole thing.
The Moment We Usually Miss
It would’ve been easy to stand up and keep walking.
Keep moving. Keep the momentum. Keep things “interesting.”
But instead, I said,
“No, let’s stay here. Let’s just see what we notice.”
So we sat.
Another minute passed.
Then we saw a huge bumblebee drifting through the air.
We started listening more closely to the birds. Trying to guess what they were. Not Googling it. Just wondering.
Nothing dramatic happened.
But it was… good.
Benefits of Boredom for Kids
Most people would call that moment boring.
And honestly, my son probably would’ve too.
But boredom isn’t the problem.
Boredom is the doorway.
When there’s no screen, no stimulation, no constant hit of something new—your brain has to do something.
It starts to look around.
It starts to imagine.
It starts to create.
That’s where kids build things that don’t come from a device:
Creativity
Patience
Curiosity
Awareness
What Happens When We Remove Boredom
It’s so easy now to fill every gap.
A phone in the car.
An iPad at dinner.
A show when things get quiet.
And I get it. It makes life easier in the moment.
But when every quiet second gets filled, kids never have to figure out what to do with nothing.
They never hit that point where imagination kicks in.
They just wait for the next thing to entertain them.
The best lessons don’t come from parents. They come from real consequences. A story about youth baseball, leadership, and why letting kids feel the outcome of their choices is how we raise strong, capable adults.
A simple realization while learning guitar: the most powerful parenting tool isn’t advice—it’s example. What your kids see you do shapes who they become.
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