"Our House Is Boring..."

Yep, forts are great!
You can also get a large cardboard box from an appliance store and you can cut windows in it while they color it.
About when I started telling my Mom I was bored, she had me stand on a chair and wash dishes.
Her theory was - if you are bored, I've got work you can help me with.
It's amazing how quickly I learned to amuse myself if I knew being bored meant I'd be given a chore.

If we ever told my mom we were bored, she gave us chores....I hated that. LOL I learned to never say I was bored.
You know, it is probably that they just have different stuff at the friends houses. My daughter loves going to other people houses just for that reason - different toys.
I liked the idea of the bored box......

I don't really have any advice other than what my mom did to us.

Kids are going to say that, regardless. Someone else's house is always more interesting than their own, because everything is new to them.

My kids usually say this when I won't let them turn on any more tv/video games. I just tell them that they are brilliant kids with great imaginations, and they can make it as boring or interesting as they want it. I might suggest a few things to do/play. Then I drop the issue. Usually I find them playing happily not much later.

If they persist in the "it's so boring here" complaint, I find stuff for them to do - put away dishes, fold laundry, pick up clutter, etc. Usually they suddenly can find something interesting! (Start gradually with this - my kids are older and can get the hint more quickly).

Children are always comparing themselves to eachother these days. In the old days most kids just had dirt, a creek and a fishing pole to entertain themselves. Now the sky is the limit with toys,entertainment and the latest style of clothes. Try to nip it in the bud while she is young that "stuff" equals popularity or happiness& fun.

One day recently our oldest said to me "Mom...I want to live a life of luxury!!" It was said while he was in a giddy and funny mood but I took the time to set the record straight. He is a very compassionate and nurturing boy and I tapped into that. I reminded him of all the many blessings we have of food,beautiful home with pool, toys, school down the block, health, freedom of speech&religion etc....It was not so much a preachy speech but just to drive a point home. He quietly said, "Ok Mom...I get it..I guess I am living a life of luxury already." I hugged him and we talked about the "wants" he has and how friends seem to have sooo much more. I told him I felt the same way when I was younger.

Soooo, keep encouraging friends coming over. Do some activities with them..they will love it. Paint, playdough, plant some flowers in paper cups and send them home with the friend(she will be thrilled!),make cookies together and send some home with the friend with a recipe card and note that says, "Look what I made with my friend_________!".

My kids love having friends over to hang out and play. Recently my my son and his garage band were over..he asked "Mom,can you give us the royal treatment?" I asked what that meant. He said, "You know, bring us snacks and drinks and stuff." Sooo, I did and it made him feel so good to share goodies with his friends. I didn't know juice and crackers equaled "royal treatment" but I guess so in his mind.

Good luck and best wishes!

When my kids say they are "bored" or there is "boring" stuff at home... I tell them "GOOD, that means your brain can start working now....!" and then I tell them to find something to do, that is creative.

My kids rarely say that or compare their "toys" with others, but once in awhile, they do. Then that is what I say.

I tell them "being bored is good. Think of something now..." and they do, and they get creative.

Kids sometimes, nowadays, do not know how to be, creative.
Entertainment is 'passive' or not.
It is a choice.

i agree with Dawn also. For the past 3 days my kids have been making "forts" between our couch and chair. they take blankets and drape across the two arms and then put blankets on the floor. they bring in toys, books, the dogs, etc. and play forever. or you can bake with your daughter. my kids love making sugar cookies. we make them and then let it chill and then i roll it out on the table and let them use cookie cutters to cut them out. i bake them and when the cool, i make homemade frosting/glaze and then let them decorate the cookies. sometimes i even color the frosting with food coloring. or they make their own books. my kids are pretty creative. they don't play with a lot of toys, so i've had to figure things out for when my daughter says she is bored.

i had my niece over the other day from 8 in the morning until 8 at night, and they played non-stop the whole time she was here. 10 mins after she left my daugther said she was bored. i told her it was amazing that she could be bored so quickly. and then told her to play with some of the toys she never plays with. :)

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My boys learned years ago that if they told me they were bored, I handed them a rag to start cleaning with. I wasn't kidding either. They only get 2 hours of video/computer games each day during the summer (less during the school year), so that leaves many hours to fill with imaginative or outdoor play. Sometimes I hang out or play with them, but I certainly don't entertain them all day. Figuring out what to do helps their imaginations grow. I love hearing the games they come up with.

My boys are 7 and 13, and tents are huge in our house, too. My 13 yo will help the 7 yo build giant, elaborate tents. They will also build amazing constructions with Legos or other building materials. Outside they will swing on the hammock, play in the treehouse pretending all kinds of adventures, or explore all over the place (we live on acreage).

When other kids come over, particularly the 7 year old's friends, they say they are bored sometimes if electronics aren't involved, and my son will cringe because he knows I will assign them chores, too, and I will. I simply can't believe how many young kids seem to need to be entertained or be playing electronics. They soon learn how things work around here and end up having a great time.

I think it is a sign that the kids aren't being stretched to use their imagination much. Were you able to go and play WITH the girls and get them started with something? Big items can seem boring b/c you do the one thing with them... with the scooter, they get on it and push/ride. Same with the bike. And if they play the same Wii or Xbox games over and over it can just get old. Could you help them stretch themselves? My daughter (a little older, but she was only 8 when she started out) took it upon herself to pop in an exercise Wii game and enjoys doing the yoga.
Do you have plain old boring toys that can be used multiple ways? Like lincoln logs. They can build things. Then put Barbie in them. Or Little People or whatever. Or a dress up trunk... You could have a contest to see who could put on the most items in __ seconds/minutes. All you need is a clock with a second hand. No stopwatch necessary.
Or playdoh/modeling clay. My daughter LOVES that stuff. You could ask them to see how many "zoo animals" they can make. Then how many "farm" animals, etc....
They just need a little help getting started. With electronic stuff, or motorized things, there isn't much thought involvement for the kids. They turn it on and do what it says or what you are "supposed" to do. Make them think a little---they will have SO much fun.

I'd also bet that the majority of those homes that have SOOOO many toys, have very little hands on mom or dad time. They crave our involvement in their play. Give them that and they will never be bored!

Teach or play interactive, involved games where people are the subject and not things

What would I say? "Oh, what do you think *you* could do to make it more interesting?"

Kids will have to learn over time-- it's not about the toys, it's about *us* and what *we* do. We can have a house full of toys and still be boring people. I don't think I would give the complaining a lot of attention. Your daughter is five and has a five year old perspective. Since she wasn't playing with the playmate, it could also be that she doesn't know how to say/reconcile that perhaps she thinks her playmate is boring. If the playmate is interesting, if the children are engaged, you won't have moments like this.

If your daughter 'chooses' not to invite other kids over because she thinks the house is boring, I'd let her follow her own path until she's dissatisfied with it or asks for help.

Frankly, there are a lot of things in this world that children don't particularly like, and some of them, I do not feel we need to rush out and 'correct'. Just because the neighbors go overboard doesn't mean we have to. Occasionally, at my preschool, a child would complain that they were bored. I would just tell them "well, there are a lot of things to do(list a few they like), and if you want to be bored, I'm okay with that too. Let me know if you want some help getting started on something" and just leave it at that. Boredom, in the right circumstances, is a good thing. It can encourage imagination and motivate kids to play to meet their needs and search out resources if need be.(Sometimes, we are the resource and we can suggest some fun things to do.) "Rescuing" children from self-imposed boredom, though, only inspires complacency and a need for others to solve their problems. Let's face it, if a child can't motivate themselves enough to *play*, then we aren't doing them any great favors by trying to fix this. :)

I also agree with the more toys is not the answer...we just last week made a tent out of sheets and watched a movie and ate pizza and smores under our "tent" when it was Lights out, I gave the kids dollar store flash lights and let them tell stories. Playing outside they get squirt bottles instead of squirt guns and I let them gig up "treasures" in a small unused flower bed.
We go to the library, we go on walks...I do tend to pick up some activity books for the summer and buy extra arts and crafts stuff for when the weather is too hot or rainy. Also look up some easy science projects or easy to prepare no bake recipes...kids LOVE hands on stuff.

It sounds like she has too much that she doesn't appreciate & doesn't know how to just "play" & create her own fun.

Personally, I'd give her some chores to do each time she said she was bored, or get rid of the electronic/fancy toys & go back to basics.

I've never experienced that, honestly. My DD LOVES to play with her friends. They are happy with a stuffed animal, doing pretend play or coloring or playing outside. We don't have video games & lots of fancy stuff & I think it's helped her be more imaginative.

I also think you need a conversation with her about material items, money, things, quantity & how they don't really mean anything, etc. It sounds as if she's insecure & already noticing that the other kids have more than her. I'd be nipping that in the bud right now.

I say, boring is a common word overused by children especially. I'd ignore it. I suggest that the kids in the neighborhood also say the same thing. It's a matter of them not knowing how to entertain themselves.

Perhaps you could have a list of creative things with supplies available so that you can direct her to another activity. But don't be surprised if she says that's boring too.

It's OK to be bored. All of us are from time to time.

I would do what Dawn suggests. Cute little things like that may go a long way. I use to LOVE doing tents across the dining room table. If it was my daughter, I'd tell her to be grateful for what she has. I tell her that now when she wants a toy that I'm not going to buy. And yea, this girl has tons of toys that I need to recycle because her room is slam full with her toy boy and 2 laundry baskets, way too many.

I get that kids wanna keep up with the little jones but they gotta learn to appreciate what they have. Maybe help her rediscover toys she already has, like the playhouse or scooter or wii. Hope it helps a little :) I can't wait to read other responses too. I tend to go overboard every now and then (too many toys, clothes, shoes) so I sense that I should know how to react to that haha. I'm not tryna raise a "diva".

ROFL...

Well, my son has learned to not use the 'boring' word. Because 'boring' means that his imagination has turned off and it's time to do an electronics ban for a week or three until his imagination has turned back on. Come to find;

paper airplanes
hoses
tents
books
trees
traps
music
paper mache
handstands
wheels

and a gazillion other things all make REALLY interesting toys. Hehehe.

But as to the friends part... it's PROBABLY because when she goes over to a friend's house, the toys are all DIFFERENT from hers. So she thinks friend = wildly exciting new things, but since it's at her house, it's her toys, so she's not excited by them. (That, and there ARE just some crappy kids out there. One of my son's ex-friends upon seeing his room, told him his room was stupid and boring. Yeah, because any bedroom with a drum kit in it, and legos, and a secret passageway, and toys galore is 'boring'. Mmmhmmm. Suuuuure. Anyhow, it just about broke my son's heart, he was so excited to share his things with this particular kid. Thwibbt. Now that he's made better friends, he has TONS of fun in his room with them. But this one boy was just a jerk.)

I showed my 4yo videos of starving kids in Africa. Available on You Tube. He certainly ate all his peas that night. Teaching gratitude is tough, DAILY work. Good luck, Momma.

First of all, nip it in the bud. Have a "boring or bored box" write down a bunch of activities like, "play Monopoly" , "clean the bathroom", "make a bead necklace" etc in it. When someone says they're bored then have them pick and activity and do it.

Second, perhaps you could plan a fun craft or bake cookies or find another way to have fun with your daughter and her friends.
If this still doesn't appease her then have her quit inviting friends!

I think that it is a good idea to take her to a local food bank or a place that feeds the homeless and see that these people don't have much at all and help teach her that you and your family are blessed and do have a lot.

She needs to learn to be thankful for what she has.

I wish you the best.

= )

I tend to have ZERO tolerance for that sort of spoiled behavior. The few times my daughter has tried it, I put up all the cool stuff we have so she can get back to reality. I have also made her periodically go through her room and donate what is not being used. Try taking her for some volunteer work. It sounds like she needs to learn to appreciate what she has!