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CBeebies Parenting · Saturday · 31 min

Download: Is boredom good for kids? With Dr Punam Krishan

Boredom. It’s a word that strikes fear into the hearts of parents everywhere. Because let's be honest, the moment a child says, 'I'm boooored,' many of us feel an urgent need to become all singing, all dancing entertainers, and activity planners, all rolled into one. But what if boredom isn't the enemy? What if those moments of unstructured play are where imagination, creativity, and a little bit of independence begin? What happens when we accept our own experiences of parental boredom? Well, join Katie and Guv as they explore why it's okay, and maybe even healthy, for us and our little ones to be bored from time to time with NHS GP, TV doctor, Strictly star and author of The Mother Load: Every Mother’s Guide to Juggling Health, Dr Punam Krishan and experimental social psychologist at the University of Essex, Dr Wijnand van Tilburg, whose research specialises in boredom. So step away from the glue gun and start listening.

0:00-31:52

transcript

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show notes

Boredom. It’s a word that strikes fear into the hearts of parents everywhere. Because let's be honest, the moment a child says, 'I'm boooored,' many of us feel an urgent need to become all singing, all dancing entertainers, and activity planners, all rolled into one.

But what if boredom isn't the enemy? What if those moments of unstructured play are where imagination, creativity, and a little bit of independence begin? What happens when we accept our own experiences of parental boredom?

Well, join Katie and Guv as they explore why it's okay, and maybe even healthy, for us and our little ones to be bored from time to time with NHS GP, TV doctor, Strictly star and author of The Mother Load: Every Mother’s Guide to Juggling Health, Dr Punam Krishan and experimental social psychologist at the University of Essex, Dr Wijnand van Tilburg, whose research specialises in boredom.

So step away from the glue gun and start listening.