Babies and boredom
Today we will be talking about boredom in babies and children, what that looks like and how to combat it.
Have you noticed lately how all of a sudden your baby needs a lot more entertainment? Or maybe you’ve noticed that he/she gets fussier much quicker during an activity? There is good reason for this. It’s expected that as your baby gets older, he/she will have a hard time sitting in the same position for too long. They get bored of looking at the same toys or scenery and they often cry as a result of that boredom. So go ahead, give them a change of scenery, change their position, interact more with them or give them a new toy to look at.
Picture this scenario, as I’m sure by now you’ve experienced this before. You put your baby down on their play mat or in the bouncy seat, hang a toy from their seat, put on music in the background and shortly after they start to cry. Your first reaction is that you assume your baby is tired or hungry so you either try to feed them and they don’t even want the feeding and possibly cry even harder or refuse it, or you put them down for a nap assuming they must be ready to sleep and then the crying continues and they don’t actually sleep. At that point you must be thinking, “well what gives?” or “what am I missing?”
This is SUCH a common scenario! Believe it or not, I have experienced this countless times before and it sometimes still happens to me even now. The first thing we assume is that our babies are ready for a feeding or to sleep and often times it’s your baby’s cry of boredom or overstimulation.
I have put together a list of questions to ask yourself to help determine the cause of your baby’s sudden crying.
When did my baby last wake from a nap? Could he be tired?
When did she last eat? Could she be hungry?
Are the toys he’s playing with or looking at too busy, noisy or overstimulating?
Is she getting restless cause she’s been sitting in the same position for too long? Maybe she needs to stretch.
Has he been looking at the same toys or view for too long? Maybe you didn’t give him anything to look at to begin with.
Figure out what could be causing the crying and then make necessary changes to help your little one.
Is my baby bored, overstimulated or tired?
Interestingly, babies can exhibit similar behaviors when tired, bored or Overstimulated. They may cry in all scenarios and the cry may sound similar but will have slight differences, including in their body language, so pay close attention to their cries to help you figure out what’s going on.
I have briefly broken it down for you to help you distinguish their cries.
Overstimulated: Turning their head away or to the side.
Fussing and complaining which can turn into full blown crying.
Crying with their eyes closed.
Arching their back away from the toys (like trying to escape).
Bored: Fussing and complaining which can turn into full blown crying.
Suddenly looks disinterested in their surroundings/toys.
Tired: Yawning
Slowing down
Zoning out
Arching their back.
Fussing and complaining which can also turn into full blown crying.
What about toddlers and older children?
Of course we cannot forget about the toddlers and the older children.
We have talked about how to help infants and babies with boredom but what about the toddlers and the older children? They also get bored, tired and even overstimulated from their toys and often need our help and guidance getting them out of that state of mind.
Much like babies, toddlers and older children can exhibit some similar behaviors when they are bored, but they do vary slightly.
Their behaviors can include:
Throwing tantrums
Decreased activity
Disinterest in their toys
laying down on the couch or floor
Thumb sucking
Whining, crying and clinging to their parents or caregivers
Verbalizing that they’re done playing or want you to play with them
Throwing their toys or becoming very wild and out of control.
Here are some suggestions for helping your children deal with boredom.
Give new life to their toys.
If your child seems uninterested in his/her toys, help reinvent them by bringing the toys into another room in the house or even taking them outside. New environments often inspire new and more imaginative ways to play. Help your children discover new ways to play with their toys by asking questions that spark their imagination. You may also offer suggestions of new things they can do with their toys.Show interest in what your child is doing.
Showing interest in what your child is doing and wanting to be involved in their activities are great ways to encourage them to want to continue playing. Kids, toddlers and babies alike get bored of playing by themselves for too long and they can quickly lose interest if no one else interacts with them or shows interest in what they are doing.Help pique their interests.
If your child is at a loss, give them a descriptive scenario of how you would play with their toy of interest and then ask your child how they would play with it. Make conversation about it! Ask what they're interested in and help them come up with ways that they can include those interests in their activities. They may need your help figuring out exactly what they're interested in, and it's ok to offer some suggestions.Give them responsibilities
A great way to combat boredom is to include your child in what you are doing by giving them responsibilities. If your child is done playing but not sure what to do next, go ahead and have them help you out with whatever it is you are doing in the house. Giving them responsibilities makes them feel like they are contributing positively to the household, making them feel responsible and capable and it’s also a great way to pass the time.Put those toys away.
Perhaps your child needs a break from his/her toys...Go ahead and put them away for a while, take them out in a week or 2 or 3 and they will be like new! Putting toys away and then taking them out a few weeks later is another way to give new life and interest to them. It's always a good idea to take a break from the toys they currently play with and swap them out for other toys that they haven't seen in a while.
The bottom line:
Whether you have a baby, a toddler or an older child dealing with boredom and you’ve tried giving them a change of scenery, changing their position, given them a new toy, ruled out overstimulation and they’re still crying, check the clock, it may very well be time for a nap, bedtime, a feeding or lunch. Maybe your toddler or older child needs some quiet time to decompress from all the noise or maybe they need a break from their toys.
Sometimes it requires a bit of detective work to figure out why our children are crying, whether it be from boredom, overstimulation or exhaustion. But hopefully you have enough information and tools here to help take out some or most of the guesswork. Being in-tuned with your child’s needs and structuring their day appropriately with a good routine is another way to really help you figure out what they need when they are crying.