What to do with boredom

‘I’m bored!’ This is a cry many parents are frequently faced with, especially on weekends and school holidays. Despite the many options of activities and entertainment available, our children are often at a loss for what to do. The temptation as parents is to swoop in and fill the gap that they are experiencing by either entertaining them or finding some way to distract them—too often using digital devices. We hear the threat of that proverbial saying ‘Idle hands are the devil’s workshop’ in the back of our minds and scramble to fix the problem.

One of the chaplains at my work with Year 13 commented that one of the unexpected challenges on the Fiji mission trip is helping our young adults to find things to do during the unexpected downtimes that ‘Fiji time’ brings, without them resorting to spending time on their phones or otherwise being bored. In a world that is filled with endless entertainment, being bored feels increasingly unusual and uncomfortable to young people, and we older generations long for the analogue lifestyle of times gone by.

In 2026 there is a TikTok wellness trend where Gen Z are embracing boredom. They spend a set amount of time (ranging from minutes to hours) doing absolutely nothing—no stimulus at all to experience boredom. No phones, no music, no TV or no books. They film their attempts to reset their attention spans and detox from the digital world. In this context, boredom is embraced as a challenging but positive state of being.

So what is the point of boredom in God’s creation, and how do we respond as Christian parents when we see our children experiencing boredom? Is it a good thing that we should be seeking, or should it be avoided at all costs?

What is boredom?

Wikipedia gives us this definition for boredom: ‘In conventional usage, boredom, ennui, or tedium is an emotion characterised by uninterest in one's surrounding, often caused by a lack of distractions or occupations’. Boredom can be from a lack of activity, or it can also be from finding activities lacking in meaning, challenge or novelty (for example those monotonous household tasks we face daily as adults!). Interestingly, the word boredom doesn’t appear anywhere in the Bible.

Warnings against idleness

The Bible does, however, warn against idleness and being a ‘sluggard’ (1 Timothy 5:13; Proverbs 6:6–11). In this sense, boredom from inactivity is to be avoided or discouraged as the Bible tells us it leads to being busybodies, laziness and an overreliance on the labour of others. This is certainly not what we are hoping for our children as they grow into adulthood! Instead of saving our bored, inactive children immediately by distraction, we need to help our children learn to work through the discomfort of boredom and find meaningful activities for themselves instead. Boredom in childhood is a training ground for life, as children develop and learn the lifelong skill of managing their feelings of boredom in healthy, productive and positive ways.

In practice this will look different depending on the age of your child. For younger children, we can provide access to a range of activities and help them to choose something to do. Give children a ‘menu’ of possible activities using words or pictures so they can take the initiative in finding a meaningful activity to pursue. You may have to get them started with the activity before leaving them to it. Older children should be encouraged to generate their own ideas. Guide them in their choices towards activities that are creative and productive rather than just mind-numbing entertainment and distraction. My husband often sets an amount of time for them to find something to do, before  assigning them a household job to complete—it is funny how quickly boredom is expelled when the alternative is a chore!

Boredom and creativity

It is commonly believed that the greatest benefit of boredom is that it leads to creativity. As image bearers of the Creator God (Genesis 1:27), creativity is an indelible mark of our humanity. Unfortunately, the science is divided on whether being bored leads to creativity. The Science Versus podcast [here] has an interesting episode if you want to explore the research further. For some people, boredom creates space for mind-wandering and the environment for the brain to create new connections or explore novel ideas. Agatha Christie once famously said, ‘There is nothing like boredom to make you write!’. Creating space through boredom for our kids to be creative and use their own problem-solving skills is important and may produce wonderful things. However, as noted above, not everyone’s boredom will lead to amazing, creative results. We aren’t all wired the same way, and many factors including personality traits might not result in a clear path from boredom to creativity—so don’t be disappointed if your child doesn’t suddenly become a creative prodigy!

Wearisomeness leading to God

A final lesson in the Bible that teaches us about boredom is found in the book of Ecclesiastes, which says, ‘All things are wearisome, more than one can say’ (Ecclesiastes 1:8). Boredom often comes when we find things wearisome. In light of Ecclesiastes, John Piper describes boredom as ‘the relentless experience of not finding satisfaction in this world’. So what is God’s purpose in the universal experience of boredom? Boredom is a beacon for the dissatisfaction we face in our earthly lives that points us to something greater, something better, something more satisfying—God himself!

The TikTok trend of going ‘cold turkey’ with boredom was really about finding the constant distractions of modern life wearisome. There was a desire to disconnect digitally and find something more meaningful through meditation and silence. TikTok promised something more satisfying in pursuing boredom. However, as Christians we know that boredom isn’t the end goal but rather a feeling that can point us to God. As Christian parents, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we trained our children to turn first to God in their boredom? Encourage them to pray to God about how they are feeling, read the Bible or sing songs of praise. Instead of using the inactivity of boredom as an end in itself, use the stillness of boredom to reflect on God and who he is. In Psalm 46, God commands us to: 

‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth’ (Psalm 46:10).

During my time with Year 13 in Fiji I was encouraged by how the students used the times of potential boredom. While sometimes they did reach for their phones as a distraction, more often they prayed together, read the Bible, encouraged each other in fellowship, sought out quiet reflection or sang songs of praise accompanied by guitar. The time was used in stillness before God. My prayer for my own children is that these same habits in the face of boredom might become their default too, so that in this weary world they can experience the satisfaction to be found in God alone.

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Fiona Dewhurst is married to Phil and they have three school-aged boys. Having grown up in the country, they now live in a home that backs onto some of the bushland of the Sutherland Shire and attend Jannali Anglican Church. Fiona works as a Pastoral Carer at Youthworks Year 13 and casually as a debating adjudicator and Spelling Bee announcer. When she isn't being a taxi-mum, Fiona loves to read books, drink tea, go on bushwalks and make yummy food for her endlessly hungry boys.

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