Share your thoughts on summer boredom!

Let's talk about the speed of summer - yes, it does seem to fly by, but overall how does a summer day feel? Rushed, on-the-go, scheduled, "full" OR slower, unscheduled, wandering and "open"? Either way, when we settle into the rhythm of our summers, do our kids get bored? Get busy? Get creative? Or, get curious? As Ashley puts it, "The conditions for boredom barely exist! But even if they were bored, I’d let it ride. My kids are absolutely slammed during the school year with sports, school, and activities. Summer is supposed to feel different. Slower. Unscheduled." And, Kim elaborates, "Without the freedom of time and curiosity, how do you figure out what you actually love to do? When the boredom stirs, I’m always curious what will come next." Read on to hear how we each embrace our own speed of summer.

Rebecca, Woman's Leadership Coach from @PleasantlyAggressive

My kids are rarely bored. As teenagers, they have so much autonomy and mobility; they are able to make their own plans and generally execute on them too. If anything, these days I’m helping them avoid double-booking with family stuff. “Figure it out” is a motto I’m trying to embrace more. Of course, that can come with a solution I don’t love, but I’m impressed with what my kids come up with.

We have summer passes to the local beach, and that is always a good default plan. I also have a teenage driver, so that means I can send him on errands for the low, low price of a 7Brew drink.

A few summer adventures sprinkled between May and August also help us have something to look forward to if boredom starts to creep in.

Ashley, Millennial Mom Nutrition Coach from @AshleyBreaksTheCycle

Two out of three of my kids are go-go-go from the second they wake up and they’d sooner invent an Olympic sport in the backyard than sit still long enough to be bored. My middle one is quieter and more of a homebody, so I keep an eye on the screen time and make sure he has something on the calendar. But across the board, boredom is not really the enemy in our house.

We’re lucky because we have a pool, a boat, a beach just steps away, and enough neighborhood kids around that it basically feels like we’re all at camp together all summer. The conditions for boredom barely exist!

But even if they were bored, I’d let it ride. My kids are absolutely slammed during the school year with sports, school, and activities. Summer is supposed to feel different. Slower. Unscheduled. And I’m a pretty hands-off parent by design. I’m not going to helicopter my way through the sunny months filling every gap in their day.

Bored kids shoot pucks in the driveway. They make TikToks. A lemonade stand. They go for a run or figure out something nobody told them to do. That’s not a problem, that’s independence being built in real time. If I’m always the one telling them what to do next, they’re never going to learn how to answer that question themselves. And that skill matters way more in life than a packed summer schedule.

Jen, Bespoke Travel Planner from @GlobalOnDemandTravel

Boredom is where creativity is born! When the kids are "bored" is what sparks the most imaginative play and creation.

Ali, Book Aficionado from @The BookClubCart

Honestly, I’m looking forward to the two very short weeks at the end of summer when my family might finally get to experience being “bored.” We haven’t slowed down since the last day of school. Between daily morning swim practices, swim meets, water polo games, baseball, softball, BBQs, and all the summer celebrations, our calendar has been packed.

But here’s the funny thing—I’ve actually been trying to teach my kids how to be bored. I grew up in a house that was always on the go, while my husband grew up with plenty of unstructured downtime. Over the years, we’ve learned from each other when it’s worth pushing yourself to be social and when it’s perfectly okay to slow down and simply be.

Because I’ve realized that those “boring” moments aren’t really boring at all. They’re often when the best family memories are made—when imaginations take over, conversations happen naturally, and we simply enjoy being together.

Kim, Home Connoisseur from @Reverie.and.Root & Founder of Spilling Goodness

A cat door experiment that came about after boredom came and went.

Oh, summer boredom - I’m actually a big fan.

Here’s the thing - I love a day with some structure and some room to breathe, some level of consistency AND some level of spontaneity. 

In the summer, my boys start the day with swim team. This gets them up, out and moving. Afterwards, sometimes there is a camp or appointment, but most of the time the day is open. Then comes the boredom - I feel like it is something you have embrace and get through. I can feel it coming, I feel the restlessness and how my kids shake off the go, go, go of the school year. Then, they settle into what comes AFTER boredom - all the amazing imagination, digging out old games, creating new projects, experimenting with anything and everything, texting a friend to hang out, and just generally figuring out what they like to do.

Without the freedom of time and curiosity, how do you figure out what you actually love to do? When the boredom stirs, I’m always curious what will come next. When left to their own devices, what do they seek, explore, create or figure out? To me, that’s a truly magical part of summer.

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Share your thoughts on summer boredom!