averyschmidt

Is there anyone else out there (besides me) whose kids constantly
want to go somewhere and never seem to just want to hang around home?
We seem to run into problems where my almost-4yo and I really like
to be home a lot and do home-y things, while my older two boys (8
and 10) want to go from one adventure/outing to the next. I get so
exhausted with the pace of life that they want. We have plenty of
things to do around the house- zillions of toys/books/board
games/computer games/video games/instruments/art
supplies/DVDs/videos/cooking ingredients/cable tv, etc. but if we
aren't running out the door to "Do Something", or at least planning
to in the near future, they claim they're bored- meaning that
staying within our four walls or yard is boring no matter how many
things there are to do. The only time our house isn't "boring" is
when they each have a friend or two here to play with all their
stuff *with* them- the more kids the less "boring."

If they could plan it their way we'd have a big outing daily (think
skateparks, amusement parks, fishing trips, laser tag, arcades) or
at least several small ones, and preferably we'd pack in several
extra kids along with us and then bring them all to our tiny house
for a loud rambunctious sleepover. I'm fine doing this several
times a week, but not all day every day... I just plain burn out.
We could be just arriving home after being out and busily doing for
several hours, and my middle son will *immediately* start saying (in
a whiny voice :-/) that he wants to "go somewhere," and I find
myself feeling seriously irritated and in need of some down time.
If there's nothing on our big wall calendar they will say,
outraged, "we don't have anything to DO today!?" It doesn't help to
have our nearby family members translate this into boredom with
homeschooling in general and a need to be in school with other
kids. The fact that school is the last type of "outing" my boys
have in mind is lost on them.

I guess I'm just venting and at the same time wondering if anyone
else has this frantic pace of life.
Mabye I just need a new perspective..

Patti

[email protected]

It starts at the ages your boys are at. With mine it did.
My son would plan the night before where we would be
going the next day.
I had to put and end to it really fast, and the pouting
about being bored.
It wasn't easy on me putting my foot down.
My reponse to I'm bored, is you better find something to
do, or I will find you something to do.
You may want to promt them at bed time, and let them
know that you are staying home tomorrow so they are
forewarned.
The go, go, go is very addicting to kids, and I think kids need
to learn to entertain themselves when they are at home.

Linda


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

kayb85

> We seem to run into problems where my almost-4yo and I really like
> to be home a lot and do home-y things, while my older two boys (8
> and 10) want to go from one adventure/outing to the next. I get so
> exhausted with the pace of life that they want. We have plenty of
> things to do around the house- zillions of toys/books/board
> games/computer games/video games/instruments/art
> supplies/DVDs/videos/cooking ingredients/cable tv, etc. but if we
> aren't running out the door to "Do Something", or at least planning
> to in the near future, they claim they're bored- meaning that
> staying within our four walls or yard is boring no matter how many
> things there are to do. The only time our house isn't "boring" is
> when they each have a friend or two here to play with all their
> stuff *with* them- the more kids the less "boring."

Could it be that even though there's lots of stuff for them to do at
home, that they get more of your undivided attention when they're out
somewhere? Maybe if you make a conscious effort to do "something
big" at home, you could make all 3 kids happy.

Maybe find a really cool kit of some kind, or a cool activity printed
out from the internet, and say, "I'm going to put on the calender
that on such and such a date we're going to do this. Tie dye t-
shirts or do an experiment with crickets or do something from a
chemistry kit. Something really cool that would really appeal to
them that you could do at home every other day.

Sheila

Elizabeth Roberts

My kids don't necessarily want to go anywhere so much
as they want to be outside. Sarah especially..she
remembers Florida and being able to pretty much be
outside nonstop except for meals (when she wasn't
eating outside!!). Logan doesn't remember Florida that
I can tell, but he and Megan are both outside types.
So am I...being in MA has been hard on us.

Elizabeth

--- averyschmidt <patti.schmidt2@...> wrote:
> Is there anyone else out there (besides me) whose
> kids constantly
> want to go somewhere and never seem to just want to
> hang around home?
> We seem to run into problems where my almost-4yo and
> I really like
> to be home a lot and do home-y things, while my
> older two boys (8
> and 10) want to go from one adventure/outing to the
> next. I get so
> exhausted with the pace of life that they want. We
> have plenty of
> things to do around the house- zillions of
> toys/books/board
> games/computer games/video games/instruments/art
> supplies/DVDs/videos/cooking ingredients/cable tv,
> etc. but if we
> aren't running out the door to "Do Something", or at
> least planning
> to in the near future, they claim they're bored-
> meaning that
> staying within our four walls or yard is boring no
> matter how many
> things there are to do. The only time our house
> isn't "boring" is
> when they each have a friend or two here to play
> with all their
> stuff *with* them- the more kids the less "boring."
>
> If they could plan it their way we'd have a big
> outing daily (think
> skateparks, amusement parks, fishing trips, laser
> tag, arcades) or
> at least several small ones, and preferably we'd
> pack in several
> extra kids along with us and then bring them all to
> our tiny house
> for a loud rambunctious sleepover. I'm fine doing
> this several
> times a week, but not all day every day... I just
> plain burn out.
> We could be just arriving home after being out and
> busily doing for
> several hours, and my middle son will *immediately*
> start saying (in
> a whiny voice :-/) that he wants to "go somewhere,"
> and I find
> myself feeling seriously irritated and in need of
> some down time.
> If there's nothing on our big wall calendar they
> will say,
> outraged, "we don't have anything to DO today!?" It
> doesn't help to
> have our nearby family members translate this into
> boredom with
> homeschooling in general and a need to be in school
> with other
> kids. The fact that school is the last type of
> "outing" my boys
> have in mind is lost on them.
>
> I guess I'm just venting and at the same time
> wondering if anyone
> else has this frantic pace of life.
> Mabye I just need a new perspective..
>
> Patti
>
>


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[email protected]

In a message dated 4/17/03 5:22:05 PM Central Daylight Time,
[email protected] writes:

<< I had to put and end to it really fast, and the pouting
about being bored.
It wasn't easy on me putting my foot down.
My reponse to I'm bored, is you better find something to
do, or I will find you something to do. >>

This isn't really taking the childs needs into account.
"I'm bored" is a call for Mom to help them come up with something fun and
creative, help them learn how to problem solve in a positive way.
Not shut down an opportunity to help them.

Ren
"The sun is shining--the sun is shining. That is the magic. The flowers are
growing--the roots are stirring. That is the magic. Being alive is the
magic--being strong is the magic The magic is in me--the magic is in
me....It's in every one of us."

----Frances Hodgson Burnett