Let’s play

When boredom strikes, Edge Hill siblings three-year-old Lottie Bowes and her five-year-old brother Jake (right) turn to their imaginations to pass the time. Parenting website raisingchildren.net.au director Professor Julie Green said boredom was a key component to encouraging unstructured play and creativity. “When children are required to find something to do, they’re forced to use their problemsolving skills, creative thinking and imagination to play,” she said.

WHEN boredom strikes, Edge Hill siblings three-year-old Lottie Bowes and her fiveyear-old brother Jake turn to their imaginations to pass the time.

Parenting website raisingchildren.net.au director Professor Julie Green said boredom was a key component to encouraging unstructured play and creativity.

“When children are required to find something to do, they’re forced to use their problem-solving skills, creative thinking and imagination to play,” she said.

She said parents often wanted to fill up every minute of their child’s spare time with planned activities, but that wasn’t always the best approach.

“It can really be worth parents holding their nerve when the kids complain about being bored. It shows children it isn’t the end of the world to be a bit bored and to work through it,” she said.

“It’s important for parents to play with their children but they don’t have to entertain them all the time.

“When children are bored it creates a feeling of being able to rely on themselves to be resilient; the ability to get through something that might be a little bit tough and a little bit stressful.”

Lottie and Jake’s mum Jemima said she regularly left her kids to their own devices in the backyard. “They really enjoy playing in the backyard, climbing trees, and playing in the sandpit in the backyard,” she said.

“They spend a lot of time playing together. Just this week they were playing mechanics out the back with their red cars and using clear plastic tubes as their tools.”

She said she encouraged her son and daughter to play together to boost their imaginations and break genderedplay barriers.

“I’m a big believer in gender not coming into the way my children are allowed to play,” she said.

“Letting kids have time to use their imagination and explore with it is great.”