Solve My Problem: It’s Summer And My Kids Are Bored Stiff!

It’s a tale as old as time: School is finally over for the year and your child is ecstatic! But the very next day, you hear the dreaded whine: “I’m bored.” This refrain tends to recur with frustrating frequency until, at long last, you slip your child’s backpack onto their shoulders again.Kids with ADHD often rail against structure but benefit enormously from it, and the freewheeling days of summer can prove hard for them to navigate.

So, we asked ADDitude readers to share some of the ways they respond when their kids complain of boredom. As always, they had plenty of creative solutions to offer:“I created a chart that has different activities grouped into five types of play—physical, electronic, imaginative, friend, and brainiac—to help them mix it up.

If they do something electronic (often a first choice), they should do something physical or with a friend next.”“Humans need to be bored. Constant entertainment makes us less creative, while boredom sparks flexibility and problem-solving.

So I say, let them be bored! I tell my kids: I’m not a cruise director and it’s not my job to come up with something for them to do.”“I agree boredom is good, but boredom is a massive anger trigger for my son, so I find ways to set him up for success with systems, routine, timers, supporting interests, encouragement, and a whole lot of patience.”[Read: Boredom x ADHD = Feeling Depressed]“When my child says, “I’m bored,” she needs my assistance to understand what she wants to experience.