Boredom can be experienced by both children and adults. It’s a form of “brain hunger,” an internal urge for stimulation, much like the urge to eat or drink. However, providing the right stimulation for the brain is as hard as providing the exact snack your body is yearning for: “I want something. Not crackers, not fruit, not cheese, not chips, not chocolate, not yogurt….”
Boredom can’t be relieved by just any old activity. Any parent can tell you of all the activities they suggested to their bored child, who promptly rejected them. “Why don’t you call a friend?” “Why don’t you draw for a while?” “How about reading the books I just brought home from the library for you?” “Do you want to bake?”
Kids can be bored at school when there is a mismatch between what the teacher is offering and what the child’s system requires or is yearning for. For example, a child who is intellectually gifted may be bored by the classroom curriculum because he needs something more challenging to chew on. Another child in the same class may be bored because he can’t keep up with the lesson, and there’s nothing suitable for him to chew on either.
Kids can be bored at home because they’re left to amuse themselves and don’t always know how to do that well.
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