Pro-parenting tip: Boredom Buster

One summer when my kids were younger I also provided childcare for several of my friends' children and entertained the neighbor girl. Some days there were 11 kids in my home. Oh, and my husband travelled for work and was away from home for months at a time. (Yes, my sanity has been called into question more than once!) 

Kandice, Noah, Jenny and AJ that summer

Early in the summer I made an important announcement to all the children (except the baby): "From this point forward, anyone who utters the words 'I’m bored' or any variation thereof, will earn the honor of cleaning the toilets...whether you are my child or not!"

I explained to them that we had board games, a suitcase full of dress-up clothes and accessories, craft supplies, coloring supplies, movies, numerous toys and playthings, and a backyard all available for their enjoyment. They were allowed to ask me for suggestions regarding available activities, but could not use any variation of the words “I’m bored.”

I assumed I would be reinforcing this within the hour, that someone would use the dreaded words sooner rather than later.

Much to my surprise, not a single toilet was cleaned using child labor that summer!

Top: Me cutting teddy bear pieces from fabric scraps
Bottom: Lexi and Kandice stuffing bears they designed

My crazy rule had worked! I have such fond memories of that summer and the ones that followed. They made sock puppets and wrote plays for their puppets to perform. They asked for help sewing teddy bears. They sang karaoke and put on shows for each other. They dressed each other up and created a photo studio for "professional"photo shoots.

Photo shoot with Lil Bit, Kandice, Noah, Lexi, Rylee, Mack and Autumn

It wasn't perfect. They still bickered from time to time, as all kids do. They still got sassy with me. They didn't always get their way and sometimes I had a redirect a poor decision or bad idea. However, they did flex their creative muscles and I didn't have to hear the dreaded words "I'm bored."

The rule is still in place to this day and I’ve only had to give someone the honor of cleaning the toilet once...my son (who, in his defense, was a baby when the edict was declared) slipped up when he was seven. Ironically, he enjoyed cleaning the toilet that day and asked to do it again the next week.

Grown-ups, you can easily drive yourselves crazy trying to please your children and make sure their every moment is full, especially during this time of being at home. Give yourself a break and help your child learn an important life skill. They'll either learn the joy of entertaining themselves or you'll have the shiniest toilets in town!

You'll thank me later!