Let Them Be Bored: The Kind of Summer Experience Our Kids May Need Most

We have reached that point in the summer.

The camps, vacations, family visits, appointments, childcare arrangements, and carefully coordinated schedules may not be unfolding quite as smoothly as we imagined back in May.

Maybe the activities you planned have been wonderful, but you are tired of packing snacks, applying sunscreen, finding missing water bottles, driving in opposite directions, and remembering who needs to be where and when.

Maybe your child has already announced that they are bored approximately 47 times today.

Or maybe you are feeling the quiet pressure to make summer count.

Should we plan another outing? Sign up for another activity? Practice reading? Work on handwriting? Sneak some math into snack time?

Because nothing says “relaxing summer afternoon” quite like casually suggesting a worksheet to a child who has already rejected every activity you offered.

Here is your reminder, and maybe ours too:

It is okay for kids to be bored.

In fact, boredom may be one of the most valuable things we can give them.

Why Boredom Can Be Good for Kids

When children are not immediately given an activity, an adult-led plan, or a screen, they have an opportunity to figure out what comes next.

That process may begin with complaining, wandering around the house, or dramatically insisting that there is “literally nothing to do.”

But when we resist the urge to immediately fix the boredom, something important can begin to happen.

A pile of couch cushions becomes an obstacle course. A cardboard box becomes a rocket ship. Sticks become tools, magic wands, or ingredients in a pretend meal.

Boredom creates space for children to generate ideas, make decisions, solve problems, and discover what interests them.

How Imaginative Play Supports Development

When children build, pretend, create, and invent their own games, they are doing much more than passing the time.

They are planning, problem-solving, adapting when something does not work, and sustaining attention around an idea they created themselves.

Pretend play also supports communication and social development. Children practice taking turns, explaining ideas, negotiating roles, and changing the plan when someone else has a different idea.

As pediatric occupational therapists and speech therapists, we see so much development happening through play that may look simple from the outside.

Children are practicing communication, flexible thinking, coordination, sensory processing, and emotional regulation, often without realizing they are “working” on any of those skills.

That is part of what makes play so powerful!

Play Does Not Have to Be Elaborate

Children do not need a perfectly arranged sensory bin, a themed craft, or a carefully planned learning activity.

They need time, space, and permission to explore.

Play might look like building a fort, setting up a stuffed-animal school, making a ramp for toy cars, digging in the dirt, drawing a treasure map, or turning a laundry basket into a boat.

There does not have to be a finished product.

The play does not need to be Pinterest-worthy, and adults do not always need to direct it, improve it, or turn it into a lesson.

The process is the lesson.

The Benefits of Outdoor Play

When everyone is feeling restless, dysregulated, or stuck, going outside can offer a natural reset.

A child who cannot think of anything to do inside may suddenly begin collecting rocks, building with sticks, drawing with chalk, digging holes, or making up a game in the yard.

Outdoor play also gives children more opportunities to climb, push, pull, carry, jump, dig, balance, and move their whole bodies.

From an occupational therapy perspective, many of these are forms of heavy work. Heavy work includes activities that involve pushing, pulling, lifting, carrying, or using the muscles against resistance. For many children, this kind of movement can feel organizing and regulating.

And it does not need to look like an exercise program.

It can happen through everyday play:

• Climbing at the playground

• Riding a bike or scooter

• Pulling a wagon

• Carrying watering cans

• Digging in the garden

• Building a fort

• Pushing a laundry basket

• Helping carry groceries or beach supplies

Children often seek out the kinds of movement their bodies need when they are given enough room to play.

What to Do When Your Child Says, “I’m Bored”

First, remember that boredom is not an emergency.

That does not mean you need to ignore your child or expect them to independently entertain themselves for hours. It simply means you do not have to immediately solve the feeling for them.

You can model that being bored is okay:

“I get bored sometimes too.”

“It can feel hard when you don’t know what to do yet.”

“You don’t have to figure it out right away.”

You can also share what you enjoy doing when you have unplanned time:

“When I have free time, I like to read, take a walk, bake something, or listen to music.”

This helps children understand that free time does not always need to be filled for them.

You might also offer a gentle starting point without planning the whole activity:

“What could you build with these?”

“Would you rather start inside or outside?”

“Do you want to make something or move your body?”

Sometimes a simple household job can help children get unstuck. Carrying laundry, watering plants, pushing a basket, or helping bring in groceries can provide movement while giving them a clear place to begin.

And then comes the hard part: allowing a little discomfort.

Children may continue to complain. That does not mean you are doing anything wrong.

Boredom is a feeling they can gradually learn to tolerate, move through, and respond to with their own ideas.

When Independent Play Is Hard

Some children need more support to move from “I’m bored” into play.

Children who have difficulty with initiation, flexible thinking, executive functioning, sensory regulation, or generating ideas may feel overwhelmed when they are simply told to “go find something to do.”

Offering support does not defeat the purpose.

A visual choice board, two familiar options, a few minutes of playing together, or one simple first step can help a child get started.

You might begin building the fort, draw the first part of a treasure map, or gather a few materials before slowly stepping away.

The goal is not immediate, fully independent play. The goal is to gradually help children feel more confident generating ideas, making choices, and staying with something they created.

A Summer Does Not Have to Be Perfect to Be Meaningful

Maybe this summer has included amazing adventures.

Maybe it has included cancelled plans, childcare puzzles, sibling arguments, too much screen time, unpredictable routines, and dinners assembled from whatever was left in the refrigerator.

Most likely, it has included a little of everything.

Our children do not need every week to be filled with enriching experiences.

They do not need us to recreate summer camp in the backyard or turn every free afternoon into a developmental opportunity.

Sometimes the most beneficial thing we can do is step back.

Let them wander. Let them build. Let them move their bodies. Let them invent games that make absolutely no sense to us. Let them be bored long enough to discover what they can do with the space that boredom creates.

And give yourself some grace, too.

You do not have to make every day magical. You do not have to fill every hour, plan every activity, or turn every quiet moment into something productive.

A meaningful summer does not have to be a perfectly planned one.

Because the quiet, unplanned parts of childhood are not empty.

They are often where play begins.