Boredom encourages creativity in children

The summer break has begun and children are already complaining about how boring the days are. Being bored, however, is not a bad thing for children, according to Yasemin Kamalı, a clinical psychologist at Medipol Mega University Hospital.

She said parents should let their children get bored and take responsibility if they chose to do nothing to entertain themselves. "An individual who is not bored does not create anything," she added. Kamalı said children should be encouraged to participate in group activities, instead of spending time on their computers, tablets and smartphones. "Children can be encouraged to play traditional games by themselves and with their peers. The summer break should be spent resting and having fun but the child should also read a lot and repeat the things he or she learned at school in the past year," Kamalı said. For Kamalı, the internet is the one thing that makes children lazy. She suggests that children can be inspired to learn and create new things, which will help their self-development and spend time without boredom.

Where children spend their summer break is also important. Kamalı said the working parents should think twice before leaving their children with their grandparents to spend summer with them. "Even if this option is necessary, parents should think twice. If children spend too much time with their grandparents, generation clashes might happen. Also, when children travel to another place to spend the summer with their grandparents, their routine breaks which make it hard for them to adapt to their usual routine when the school year starts," said Kamalı.