Our Ultimate Guide to Combatting Boredom

"I'm bored."

One unfortunate consequence of our kids being so scheduled during the school year is that they don't know what to do with free time when it becomes available.

That's why we've come up with this list: Our top 5 ways to retaliate against the dreaded, "I'm Bored."

Look ahead in your calendar to see what birthdays and holidays are coming up in the next few months, and have your child make cards for family and friends who are celebrating. Another option: Create cards for hospitalized kids, the military, or the elderly.

Set a timer for one hour and declare that it's "backwards hour." For the next 60 minutes, your family must do everything backwards: walk backwards, wear your shirts backwards, talk backwards, say your names backwards, etc. 

Have an indoor picnic on the living room floor, play a board game or card game outside (our Movez(TM) game is great for outdoor play!), and so on.

The plastic stars that come with our reward charts can be used for a fun game of "hot and cold." Hide several of them around the house and give your child clues for where to find them.

With your child, brainstorm ideas for things to do the next time they're bored. Our screen free checklist has tons of suggestions, and you can also use our bucket list printable as a guide in choosing ways to build memories with your family this summer. Here's another fun reward chart hack: Choose several chores and tasks from our reward chart supplemental packs and place them inside a jar. When your child is bored, they can select a chore or task from the jar. The exercise supplemental pack and the supplemental chore pack are great ones to use in this way.