When we were kids, my friend’s family had a set of Childcraft books that we would skim through to find something to do.
Isn’t it ok to be bored every once in a while?
Yeah - it also struck me as a little odd that a kid would need a book of ideas to think of something to do. Sometimes it’s the boredom that leads to new ideas.
Not that I don’t think this book looks cool. It does.
No, not anymore.
Klytus, I’m bored. What play thing can you offer me today?
…at which time she became bored with Unbored.
If a kid tells you that they’re bored, tell them to go clean their room - or mow the lawn or do the laundry or some other chore.
If nothing else, they’ll stop coming to you with their complaints of boredom.
I’m bored…Here, let me give you something to cry about.
Nothing wrong with being bored. Think of it as a break from the relentless and shallow over-stimulation of modern life.
I see that a number of commenters are focusing on the title of the book and taking aim at the notion that kids not be bored. It is true to a certain degree that people need to learn to cope with boredom before they can be most creative and also there’s nothing more boring than a person complaining that they’re bored (how boring). But beyond the title, I love books with lists of things to do! This book will likely occupy many-a cabin, rainy day apartment, classroom bookshelf, and family library. I like to think that the opposite of boredom is not entertainment, per se, but rather engagement. Meaningful engagement is the sweet spot, and judging from the preview pages shown here, I bet there are some good ones for quite a few kids.
That said though, I did notice the author/s used the “10,000 hours to become an expert” saw on the “Train Your Grown-ups to stop saying You’re Awesome” page. This “practice makes perfect” trumpet – most blared with Malcolm Gladwell “play 12 anecdotes to make a general rule” style – has been debunked: http://www.fastcodesign.com/3027564/asides/scientists-debunk-the-myth-that-10000-hours-of-practice-makes-you-an-expert
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