[Momily]

Except for the TV and video games, my 9 year old is growing increasingly unable to entertain himself at all, and has trouble coming up with ideas . Today I got so tired of him asking me what he could do (e.g. coming into the bathroom to ask me while I was in the shower for suggestions) that I told him we were making a list of things and putting it on the fridge. We came up with a few ideas for times when he's got someone to do things with him (e.g. he likes me to read aloud to him, he likes to play chess, he likes to go skiing and ice skating, he likes to go to the playground with another child), but seriously nothing, not one single thing he would want to do alone.

He will spend a little bit of time "puttering" -- e.g. today he took some things and made a bed for one of his stuffed animals, and rearranged the furniture in his room to his liking. He'll also read but only if I kind of force him. But other than that he doesn't seem to like anything at all.

Suggestions?

I know lego will come up, but he's never been a lego kid -- it's just not his thing. He also won't read unless I make him. When he was younger he would do woodworking, or make comic books, or play in the bathtub, or build forts with the couch cushions. None of these things lasted long but at least they were something, rather than just whining about the lack of things to do.

So, I'm eager to hear what other people's kids do.

 

[karne]

My dd likes to ride horses, work at the barn, build her own dollhouse creations of of blocks, draw, books on tape, Barbies, etc. That said, I find for the first time a complaint of "I'm bored" coming once or twice a weekend. I think part of it is developmental and will be worked through as the growth occurs, and part is wanting more interaction with peers, which seems to be sometimes more appealing than hanging out with us. For the record, we don't do lots of playdates on weekends because we guard family time pretty closely.

 

[TiredX2]

DD just started playing the violin in September, so right now that is the standard backup when she doesn't know what to do

Does he like board games? How about some he can play by himself? Like Road Block, River Crossing, t?hings like that?

Would he be interested in a pen pal?

Would you allow him to cook. DD is very proud when I let her make something by herself (like brownies with a mix--- very easy).

There is always cleaning your room

Music? At this point DD just likes listening to music in her room sometimes.

 

[2goingon2]

My son is 9 and he does this from time to time too. Fortunately, we live in the country on a lake so when it's warm, he can swim. He has a dirt bike and plenty of room to romp around in and he has a bicycle. We just tell him to find something to do...either go outside and find something or read. My husband just put up a tire swing for him so that has provided some entertainment. We don't hear the "I'm bored" too terribly often because that's when we start coming up with suggestions like...fold laundry, vaccum the house, dust, clean the bathrooms...etc. He usually finds something pretty quick. Here lately, we have been busy making Christmas breads, hot cocoa mix and candy to put in gift baskets plus decorating and he likes helping.

 

[Mirzam]

My son spends a great deal of his time kicking, throwing or hitting a ball. He enjoys riding his bike, and I let him run errands to the local grocery store in a very quiet neighborhood. He is a lego kid, so spends time alone in his room playing with his legos. He will read quite willingly if I suggest it, he rarely just picks up a book without prompting though.

 

[Evan&Anna's_Mom]

Luckily my 9 YO DS likes Legos, at least sometimes. He will also build or create things from "stuff" around the house. Yesterday he spent most of the day crafting a bow and arrow set from sticks he found in the yard. This was definitely good/bad thing -- I hate that he was making a weapon but impressed with the ingenuity. He will sometimes draw. He will read when encouraged, but rarely pick up a book on his own. His favorite activities are definitely TV and video/computer games though.

I will admit, someone interupting my shower whining about nothing to do would definitely gotten my "well, I'm happy to solve your problem" list -- "You may clean your room, vacuum the carpet, haul the laundry up/down stairs, sweep the kitchen or patio, clean the bathrooms. Take your pick."

 

[Tangled Hill]

I have a ten-year-old boy, and we have the same problem, from time to time. He's generally able to keep himself entertained, though. Some things he likes to do:

• Bionicle (he's never really like Lego as much as I remember liking it, but he's all over Bionicle - they're just so cool looking!)
• Writing his "novels" (on the computer - he writes more than any kid I've ever met)
• Listening to audio books from the library or ones we've picked up at thrift stores
• Reading books he loves - mostly fantasy and history
• Playing with various action figures and whatnot
• Reading comic strips. When he's bored, comic strip books always do the trick - Doonesbury is his favorite, but he also LOVES Bloom County, Far Side, Calvin and Hobbes, Foxtrot and lots of others.
• Drawing - lots and lots of drawing. He didn't draw for years and years, and I figured it just wasn't his thing. Turns out, he hated crayons and markers and crappy colored pencils. He needed quality stuff. Over the past few years, he's been drawing up a storm with his Prismacolor pencils. They were a big initial expense, but sooo worth it.
• Talking to his friends on the phone
• Riding his bike
• Walking the dogs
• Playing with the dogs and cats
• Going through his Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon cards
• Playing on one of the musical instruments
• Cooking things - he loves to follow recipes
• Taking a walk
• Playing with the neighborhood kiddos
• Watching a favorite movie
• Listening to music
• Playing card and board games with me and his papa
• Working on his voices - he's an amazing little impersonator
• Helping me do anything (other than cleaning, of course)
• Playing in the backyard

I'm sure there's a ton more. Of course, right now, he's playing a game on the computer, so....

 

[TwinsTwicePlusTwo]

My kids know better than to complain to me about being bored, lol. It's a big house and there's ALWAYS work to be done

My 9yos don't seem to have any trouble entertaining themselves, though. They both still like playing with their dolls and action figures, and play imaginary games with each other and with their little brothers. They both like to read all kinds of novels, history books, magazines (mainly current events like Time and Newsweek, plus National Geographic), and they like some of the same comic strip books as Tangled Hill's kids (Calvin & Hobbes and Far Side in particular). They're both involved in martial arts and gymnastics, plus Trent has swimming lessons and meets too. Cali loves science and spends a lot of time working with her chemistry kits and microscope. They would spend 14 hours a day watching movies if I let them (I don't; movies are limited to 2 or 3 a week). Trent likes building models of just about anything. They'll go to the park and play with whatever kids happen to be around for hours.

I think that between 8 and 10 a lot of kids start needing more social interaction with 'peers' (in quotes because my 9yos seem to consider everyone between the ages of 3 and 13 their peer and potential playmate). Over the last year they've both started spending a lot more time on their cellphones talking to friends and have been requesting more play dates and sleep overs.

 

[Viola]

Mine gets bored a lot and wants to go and do "family" things together, but I'm not really sure what she wants. She'll hang on me some days on the weekend, telling me how bored she is. During the week she goes to school and that occupies a lot of her time.

She loves to play long drawn out pretend games with her little sister.
She loves to draw and make her own little story books.
She enjoys reading sometimes.
She enjoys having friends over or going to their homes, some times.

Two of those things involve other people. She also will watch movies and play on the computer. I wish she'd do more, actually, like play outside or take walks with me or whatever, but the weather is not great now.

 

[Aubergine68]

If it were my child, I'd probably congratulate him and tell him that I thought his boredom with childish things like playing with toys was a sign that he was ready for more grown-up challenges.

I'd get him to start a running list of "Things I will need to know how to do when I am grown up," like, oh, check the oil on a car, make dinner, save a choking victim, change a diaper, iron a shirt....and tell him that whenever he is bored, we'll start working on that list. I'd probably load it with things like "clean the bathroom", but I can be mean that way

WHenever he came to me with "I'm bored." I'd start him on another item on the list.

It just might spark his imagination, you never know. He may be ready to feel like he is doing something "real".

 

[Momily]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aubergine68 If it were my child, I'd probably congratulate him and tell him that I thought his boredom with childish things like playing with toys was a sign that he was ready for more grown-up challenges. I'd get him to start a running list of "Things I will need to know how to do when I am grown up," like, oh, check the oil on a car, make dinner, save a choking victim, change a diaper, iron a shirt....and tell him that whenever he is bored, we'll start working on that list. I'd probably load it with things like "clean the bathroom", but I can be mean that way WHenever he came to me with "I'm bored." I'd start him on another item on the list. It just might spark his imagination, you never know. He may be ready to feel like he is doing something "real".

The problem isn't that we have trouble thinking of things to do together -- we do lots of things together. It's that we have trouble when I'm doing something that he can't really participate in (e.g. I'm writing some kid's IEP because I didn't get to it at work, or I'm taking a shower). Similarly playing with a friend or a sibling doesn't really work for those moments, even though he does love playing with other kids.

However, I've gotten a few good ideas. More importantly I've learned that many 9 year olds don't really do much on their own, so maybe I need to stop worrying about it.

 

[purslaine]

What my 9 year old does:

-read
-play computer
-play outside
-write/illustrate stories
-talk on phone
-play with cat

HTH!

 

[ziggy]

When I was 9 I did three things. I read. I spent about 90% of my waking hours reading (including math class...). I surfed. I rode my dirtbike.

Rinse and repeat. Only one of those things could I do alone. I also cooked dinner every night, mainly out of a want to eat something non-crappy (my mom can't cook to save her life) but I read while I cooked.

 

[Marcee]

My 9 year old likes to draw, write scripts for his movies, work on his plan for World domination (he keeps a notebook of his ways to take over the planet...lol), loves the computer. He is also very musical and likes to write lyrics to songs. He also likes to play with his dinosaur collection.

 

[SAHDS]

DS is 8, but he likes to (it varies):

Play with the dog

Play with his sister (pretend, mostly)

Listen to music

Read

Snuggle (he's a very attached boy)

Play sports (especially throwing the football with dad)

Play board games

Do math work on the computer

Take baths (this is recent, I have no idea...)

Play with his Build-A-Bear, Mike (the green triceratops)

Play with his dinosaurs, Schleich (Medieval) and action figures to recreate epic battles

Draw and color

And, of course, play the Wii

 

[Bell]

My dd has learned to complain with me..

she gets bored easily so i have to think up something. She likes skating and craft and when we can't go out, she plays in her console that she likes a lot but she prefers her Webkinz. You can buy 1 for him or adopt online. Do you know somebody who plays it? Then you can have somebody else's opinion. Personally, I think it's perfect for kids and he'll like spending a long time taking care of them and playing games. So he'll give you some time to do your stuff.xx

 

[jillmamma]

Does he enjoy arts and crafts at all? Maybe having some art supplies available with a list of projects? Or if he has some interest learning to knit, crochet, cross-stitch, etc.? My mom's standby if we said we were bored was "great, I have laundry for you to fold, bathrooms to clean, dishes to unload from the dishwasher, etc." as well.

We found something to do pretty quick.