How busy are you?
Finding balance can be a tough job as a parent.
Here the fall season is very much filled with taking kids to clubs, lessons and more.
Parents juggle their work, home and personal life with driving kids all over the place.
Maybe we are too busy?
Boredom, doing nothing, has gone out of style.
Which is not all together a good thing.
Being bored, having nothing to entertain yourself (and no, the TV and computer are not part of doing nothing) can be a source of unexpected joy.
When kids of all ages (including you and me) get down to nothing, relax into it, we find new creativity, new thoughts and new activities we haven’t explored. Or not for a while.
I like drawing and painting, a hobby I developed, somewhat, later in life.
It is one of those things where my tea or coffee gets cold, because I forgot all about it.
I often just don’t seem to take enough time “to do nothing” to actually get to it.
Because our unexpected joys, new found fun, need some space.
Some space to be heard, seen and acted on. Before we actually get to it.
It is the same with your children.
When we book every school night, all weekend full of activities, when will they relax into doing nothing?
They become people that need constant stimulation from the outside to have fun, enjoy.
Instead of finding joy, creativity and fun on the inside.
So if your kids come to you wanting to be entertained, kept busy, think carefully before you jump and become the entertainment organizer.
Find a balance between giving them opportunities to do things in clubs and stimulating them to do stuff all by themselves, and without technology.
You might find that they enjoy reading, playing with stuff in their room or - as they are older - start to write, develope a hobby, a passion you hadn’t seen before.
We are all overstimulated.
Bringing the noise, the activity down, can be a good thing for our health and well being in the long run.
Because when we can find joy, fun and entertainment in ourselves, we will feel calmer, are less needy and better rested.
Better prepared, equipped to deal with the pressures of all that outside stimulation.
And when you can entertain yourself, you are rich in many ways.
Ways that don’t cost money, driving time or keeping up with others.
Ways you can teach your children.
By giving them the chance to be bored and learn to enjoy it!
Yes, after a while, of course.
Try it, you may like it!