In a recent study, high-school kids have claimed that they are bored, not knowing what to do beyond using their phones and computers. Is this something you deal with? How do you handle it? Is there anything you do to keep your teenagers from getting bored?
“My son always seems so bored at home especially now that school has started and he’s not allowed to play PS3 or online games. It does seem like their life revolves around their phones/computers/tablets/gaming consoles! This school year we “forced” him to ride the school bus so he’d meet new friends from school who live in the subdivision, so he’ll have a tropa (good tropa, we hope).
“I always tell him how it was in my childhood, not too long ago, when we couldn’t wait for 4 p.m. because it meant we’d be allowed to play outside. Habulan, patintero, shato.
“My son is approaching young adulthood, yet he didn’t even get to experience to go into caroling. We are also encouraging him to take up a sport para gumalaw-galaw naman, instead of just sitting in front of the TV the whole day with only his eyes and thumbs moving on PS3. He started learning golf last summer…”— Hazel, mom of two
“They get withdrawals even on the beach; they need to be connected to their friends all the time. I tell them to read instead if there is no (Internet) connection.” —Toni, mom of two
“Introduce them to different hobbies such as drawing, painting or enroll them in art school. Encourage them to learn to play musical instruments. Outdoor activities are fun, too, especially when the whole family gets involved. Play volleyball, go skateboarding, biking or running at the park.”—Jenni, mom of two
“Drives me crazy! I get her into sports but as soon as she gets home, it’s either the phone or some other gadget. Tried to get her into doing chores but it’s frustrating!
“The problem is most teens in her school have no siblings. And since they are too young to be allowed to hang out, they do it virtually by Skype. They watch YouTube together and it’s getting more and more difficult to monitor. She knows ‘parental controls’ in gadgets better than I do. Good thing that she loves drawing and playing the guitar. Life must be so fast-paced in her world that, despite all those things she does, she still feels bored.”—Jana, mom of one
“My son and my daughter are polar opposites. My daughter can stay in her room all day long and not complain about being bored. She has creative projects—she likes to play the guitar, she enjoys reading, she draws, she finds different ways to entertain herself.
“My son is a different story. He’d walk around the house complaining that he’s bored. He has his phone, his Wii, his computer, we have cable TV, the house is full of books and yet he still complains of being bored. It is frustrating sometimes. But we try to encourage him to find creative use of his time, to discover new interests and hobbies.”—Mike, dad of two
“My kids used to complain about being bored and every single time they did, I only had one answer. ‘You’re bored? Clean your room.’ Now they no longer complain to me that they’re bored.”—Michelle, mom of three
