The benefits of boredom and how it can boost kids creativity
Photo Credit: Mantra Media via Unsplash.com
Emel and Adam shared their inspiring stories of traveling and living 6 months in Denmark with their family of four in 2014. Emel’s then two children, 10 and 14 years old were in schools, she had her career as a lawyer with the state government, and her husband was a university professor. She and her husband had to make arrangements for their house, elderly parents, and the family dog, Nickel while they were abroad.
In the video interview I had with Emel and Adam in August 2016, Adam talked about his reluctance to be opened to their new adventure since he felt like he was torn away from all that he knew and loved like his school, friends, and Nickel. He shared his introspection of being recalcitrant to his parents as a protest to be away from the US, his lessons learned and advice to other kids his age, if they had an opportunity to travel long-term abroad.
His message unequivocally was to be opened to changes, and enjoy what the adventure could offer. The most fascinating revelation Adam shared was that his after school boredom in Denmark had led him to a new hobby, now a passion, and possibly a future career.
Adam confessed that his boredom has led him to watching YouTube’s cooking shows, and from them, his fascination and curiosity grew, where he’s even ventured to the neighborhood grocers to purchase items for cooking experiments. He said in another video excerpt that his love for cooking and experimentation started in full force when he returned home to the US (and I’m deducing from our conversations that it was partly due to the fact that food is more affordable and abundant here in our Farm-to-Fork capitol of Sacramento).
As his cooking skills progressed, he landed a spot as a contestant on the MasterChef Junior Show in Season 5, where the episodes started airing on Fox, February 9, 2017.
I’ve not yet watched the show, but my husband and I inadvertently saw a clip of him during one of the Superbowl’s advertisement for MasterChef Junior. I’m extremely happy, proud of Adam, and honored that we will be joining his family for a party in the near future to celebrate with him, family, friends, and neighbors.
The takeaway for parents here is to let the children have supervised downtime, even when they think that they are bored. It’s that valuable time when they are being allowed to use their creativity and problem solving skills to entertain themselves.
Video Interview in August 2016: https://youtu.be/JDnBwAOLPMA
Adam at :30 into the video of MasterChef Junior Season 5 http://www.fox.com/watch/869216835653/7684274688
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