Should Parents Let Their Kids Be Bored Over the Summer?
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The hosts of the 3rd Hour of TODAY weigh in with their 'Parental Guidance.'
Courtesy of NBC
While it's the most rewarding job in the world, let's face it, being a parent or caregiver is also one of the most difficult. Parents are faced with daily questions, dilemmas, and predicaments.Therefore, Parents is teaming up with the 3rd Hour of TODAY for its Parental Guidance series that delves into a variety of parenting scenarios and questions that don't always have clear answers. We're here to offer some perspective and practical advice for moms, dads, and caregivers.The Summer Child Care Struggle Is RealNow that summer is here, the child care struggle is real for parents and caregivers. Some choose to schedule their kids for a variety of camps and classes in order to keep them busy and stimulated.Yet others may work from home, are stay-at-home parents, or have a village who can help out with child care in the home. That led us to ask the question: Should parents and caregivers allow their kids to be bored over the summer?It seems as though the co-hosts of the 3rd hour of TODAY, Al Roker, Sheinelle Jones, Craig Melvin, and Dylan Dreyer all agree on this issue needing some Parental Guidance.Al Roker"Here's the deal. Kids should absolutely be bored during summer. Why? Because they have to learn to live with themselves and do stuff. Our job is not to entertain our children every minute.""When I was a kid, and granted, I know the earth was just cooling, but in the summer, if I said, 'I'm bored,' my mother said, 'Oh, let me give you something to take care of that.' And we ended up having to clean the bathroom."Sheinelle Jones"I think that kids should be allowed to be bored over summer break. Not all the time, but a lot of the time. You know why? Because I feel like boredom, in the right way, breeds creativity.""These days when a child says they're bored, quite often they go to technology, and frankly, they go to their phones, right? And they can go into in a rabbit hole and be on their phones all day long -- so I'm not saying to do that – but I say boredom without phones, go for it."Craig Melvin"Yes, you should let your kids be bored during the summer because the reality is no child in this day and age should ever be bored between their 16 video game options, iPads, cell phones, etc. depending on the age. They have an endless opportunity to entertain themselves. No, there's no boredom during summer."Dylan Dreyer"I just think kids are so overscheduled all throughout the school year. I like the lazy mornings figuring out what to do, and I noticed even when my kids ask me to play, and I can't in that moment because I'm cooking dinner or I'm doing something, all three of them sort of collaborate together and just come up with something, even if it's something silly. They start singing a song or they start playing some sort of superhero game or they're just sort of wrestling on the floor in the living room.""I think their brains work when they're bored because they have to. If they're always being told what to do or always given options or are always given suggestions, I just don't think their brain grows the way it should.""So, as Calvin sits here right next to me now, bored as can be, I think there's a huge benefit to being bored as a child." For more Parents news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on Parents.
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