"I'm bored," and my 4 year old?

[IdentityCrisisMama]

DC (4+) has been saying she's bored lately and I wonder how to deal with it. On one level, I'm not entirely sure she knows what the word means and I'll talk to her about that today. Also, I don't think "being bored" is what she's upset about anyway. For instance, she has woken (lucid state) and said she was bored and fell back to sleep.

On another level, even if she is bored some of the time, I'm not sure how I feel about it. I know about a philosophy that thinks that it's a good sign that kids at this age are bored occasionally. Also, it seems like DC needs some down time. I suppose I could schedule more "stuff" for her to do but I honestly don't think this is the answer.

What are your thoughts?

[mamaduck]

My 9 yo. has expressed being "bored" frequently from birth. I'm seriously. He learned the word at age 2, but even before that -- he had a restlessness about him that was very noticeable whenever he was not actively engaged in learning something. He has a high need to be stimulated, and if he can share stimulating experiences with another person its all that much more satisfing to him.

My conclusion after 9.5 years of attacking this from all angles is this: I need to give him the bare bones of a structure each day, but then he needs to fill it in. Its not helpful in the long run if I provide direction for every detail of his day. So my standard response to "I'm bored " is now -- "That sounds like a real problem. How can you solve it?" If he can come up with his own ideas, then so much the better for everyone, including himself.