My Kids Are Bored and I Don't Care

A Gift for Mom! 🤍

I, Amy Weatherly, REFUSE TO BE MY KIDS’ FUN COORDINATOR. THIS IS NOT A CRUISE SHIP AND I AM NOT THE EVENT DIRECTOR. I AM NOT THE FUN CAPTAIN, OR THE QUEEN OF PINTERST PROJECTS OR THE KEEPER OF THE SECRETS OF NEVER BEING BORED. I AM NOT A GUMBALL MACHINE FILLED WITH MAGIC AND GOOD TIMES.

I played with dirt and the water hose growing up and I collected rollie pollies in old Pringle’s cans and I had a good ol’ time. I turned out just fine, depending on who you ask. I have no plans to write an unhappy memoir about all the times my horrible parents refused to fill my schedule with things to do, and told me the answer was “No.” In fact, I kinda still like my parents even though they didn’t give me everything I wanted. Still, a little feisty about not getting that My Kid Sister doll, but whatevs. I’ll get over it when I’m 40.

I love playdates and water parks and craft stuff just as much as the next mom, but when your kids are whining about being bored, and you feel overwhelmed to spin and twirl and sing and pull out your Mary Poppins bag and paint an instant smile on their pouty faces, remember this:

Two things happen when kids are bored:

1. It forces them to get creative and expand their imagination. Awesome. That’s a nice life skill to have.

2. It reinforces the concept that they are in charge of their own happiness, learning to be content is an inside job, and they don’t need more things to enjoy life. They understand that they are capable of creating their own fun, and start to figure out that it’s not someone else’s job to present them with everything they could ever want on an expensive silver platter and tied up with a giant red bow. Also, things you can teach them now, or things they can learn the hard way.

And, admit it. Kids are better at having fun than we are. I climb on my bathroom counter and pluck stray hairs when I want to have a good time, or I sit quietly in my car . . . like, I just sit there and literally do nothing, and they do things like use a laundry basket as a canoe and fish for sharks in the ocean using curly ribbon and shoes.

They win at knowing how to play every time, so never let yourself fall into the trap of feeling guilty for letting them do it.

You may also like:

What Do Stay At Home Moms Do All Day?

My Mom Rarely Played With Me as a Kid and I Turned Out Just Fine

I Can’t Be Everyone’s Chick-Fil-A Sauce

20 Cheap and Family-Friendly Summer Bucket List Ideas!

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Order Now!

Amy Weatherly

I want women to find one thing in this group: fulfillment and freedom in the fact that they are loved and worthy, and that they have an essential role to play in God's kingdom. I want them to rest in the knowledge that THEY MATTER. They are absolutely essential to God's master plan. And as they begin to sink into their roles, and memorize their lines, I want them to take a deep breath, and discover the courage to step out onto that stage. Follow Amy on her group page In & Out Beauty by Amy.

Letting You Go Is Still So Hard

In: Grown Children, Motherhood

Nothing really prepares you for the day your child leaves the house. Last September, my husband and I moved our 18-year-old son into his dorm room. Right after that, he was swept away into all things orientation, and we began our 1,000-mile journey back home. Leaving this beautiful human I raised and spent all those years with felt foreign. During our final hug goodbye, despite trying to hold in my pain, I broke out in huge, ugly, guttural tears. Our drive home was a long two days. It took every fiber of my being not to turn around. Returning to...

Keep Reading

Behind Every Smiling Graduate Is a Mother Letting Go

In: Grown Children, Motherhood

Every year, millions of American families send their children off to their freshman year of college. Their pictures dot our social media feeds. Images of excited students holding collegiate pennants, maybe wearing a hat or holding up their school’s hand sign with beaming smiles. Their parents post excited words about futures and hopes and dreams. One chapter closing. Another opening. A new beginning. So why am I struggling so much? Why does this feel more like a loss than a gain? Why are my tears always on edge, threatening to spill over each time I think about August and what...

Keep Reading

Life Lessons from My Grown Children

In: Faith, Motherhood

“Don’t limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time.” – Rabindranath Tagore Quietly communing with a loved one in the early morning hours is such an intimate and precious time. Visiting with one’s grown child when all is dark and still is one of life’s purest pleasures. I remember the conversation clearly. My daughter’s husband, small children, and father were all asleep as we whispered and chatted. She and I are both fidgeters by nature, unable to be still for long. This inner restlessness must be remedied, and we are compelled by biology to...

Keep Reading

As a Medical Mom, I Measure Growth Differently

In: Kids, Motherhood

In most homes, the marks on the wall are a simple celebration of time passing. They are pencil lines that track how many inches a child has gained since their last birthday. But in our home, those marks represent a much deeper, more complex story. When your child lives with multiple hormone deficiencies, growth is never just “natural”—it is a carefully managed medical achievement. However, as any medical mom knows, the story doesn’t end at the top of the head. It begins deep inside, with a tiny gland that isn’t sending the right signals. Having multiple hormone deficiencies is often...

Keep Reading

Hannah Harper Is Every Mom with Babies in Her Arms and a Dream In Her Heart

In: Living, Motherhood

Hannah Harper American Idol winner sings with her young son on her lap

By now, you’ve probably seen the posts flooding your feed: A young mom. Three little boys. A guitar strap embroidered with her children’s drawings. And a crown. When Hannah Harper won American Idol this week, moms everywhere erupted. And honestly? Same. There is something collective about watching a stay-at-home mom win on such a large stage. The celebrations have been pouring in. Moms, we can do it. She didn’t abandon her dreams. She went for it. And all of that is true, and all of that is worth celebrating. But I want to add something to the celebration. Not to...

Keep Reading

Watching Your Children Build the Life You Prayed For Is Beautiful

In: Grown Children, Motherhood

“I love you, Mom.” “Hmmm?” (A little louder) “I love you.” “I love you too…so very much.” I’d been deep in thought, listening to the lyrics we were slowly dancing to. I knew this moment of ours was supposed to be the time to say all the things, but this boy and I had already said all the things, so the song the deejay played—written by Lori McKenna and sung by Tim McGraw—enchanted our ears: When the dreams you’re dreamin’ come to you When the work you put in is realized Let yourself feel the pride but Always stay humble...

Keep Reading

I Lost My Daughter on Mother’s Day: 3 Truths I’m Believing Today

In: Grief, Loss, Motherhood

Editor’s note: This post discusses child loss Child loss changes Mother’s Day. My 19-month-old, Julia, died suddenly on Mother’s Day in 2024. Three months later, her autopsy revealed she had B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (B-ALL, also known as SUDNIC). Julia died a week after we did an embryo transfer at an IVF clinic in an attempt to have a second child. We found out three days after Julia’s death that the embryo did not make it either. Six months later, we did another embryo transfer that succeeded, and I now have an 8-month-old daughter, Lucy Mei (“Mei Mei” means “little...

Keep Reading

If You Give a Mom a Bouquet…

In: Motherhood

Woman arranging bouquet of pink flowers on table

If you give a mom a bouquet… She goes to grab a vase to put it in. As she grabs the vase, she also grabs the duster because she knows the spot for the vase is probably dusty and she has guests coming for dinner. As she begins dusting, she notices the stack of books that needs to go back on the shelf. When she gets to the shelf, she sees the bendy action figures in battle formation that need to go back in the bin. When she gets to the bin, she spots the toy food that needs to...

Keep Reading

Here In the Liminal Space of Parenting

In: Motherhood

It’s Friday night at 8:00. The intermittent snoring of an 80-pound lap dog is the only thing slicing through the silence of my home. It feels empty, and there is a stillness in the air. I have nowhere to be; there is nobody waiting to be picked up. I’m staring at the empty takeout boxes from dinner sitting on the coffee table. There was no need to cook a big meal; it was just the two of us, my husband and me, sitting together wistfully in this liminal space of parenting. It is the quiet place between an empty nest...

Keep Reading

Mothers Are the Givers

In: Motherhood

As we were decorating the tree last Christmas, my son dug to the bottom of a box and pulled out a Snoopy ornament. He set it off to the side quickly and continued his rifling. But I noticed the faint crack along the red jukebox that Snoopy stood beside. In an instant, I was standing back in the kitchen of our first home watching my son wander in to ask, in the cutest toddler voice, if he could “pwess” the button on the ornament to play the music. With gleeful excitement, he pressed too hard. The ornament slipped from his...

Keep Reading

I Was a Blemished Bride

Faith

I Was a Blemished Bride

Meeting Your Child's Needs is Your Superpower, Mama

Kids

My Kids Are Bored and I Don’t Care

Two things happen when kids are bored:

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Amy Weatherly

Letting You Go Is Still So Hard

Behind Every Smiling Graduate Is a Mother Letting Go

Life Lessons from My Grown Children

As a Medical Mom, I Measure Growth Differently

Hannah Harper Is Every Mom with Babies in Her Arms and a Dream In Her Heart

Watching Your Children Build the Life You Prayed For Is Beautiful

I Lost My Daughter on Mother’s Day: 3 Truths I’m Believing Today

If You Give a Mom a Bouquet…

Here In the Liminal Space of Parenting

Mothers Are the Givers

Get It Now

So God Made a Mother

My Kids Are Bored and I Don’t Care

Two things happen when kids are bored:

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Letting You Go Is Still So Hard

Behind Every Smiling Graduate Is a Mother Letting Go

Life Lessons from My Grown Children

As a Medical Mom, I Measure Growth Differently

Hannah Harper Is Every Mom with Babies in Her Arms and a Dream In Her Heart

Watching Your Children Build the Life You Prayed For Is Beautiful

I Lost My Daughter on Mother’s Day: 3 Truths I’m Believing Today

If You Give a Mom a Bouquet…

Here In the Liminal Space of Parenting

Mothers Are the Givers

Previous Post

Next Post

You May Also Like