In Praise of Boredom — by Guest Mom Joslyn Taylor

Boredom can be good…with my brood, it has a tendency to get the creative juices flowing, and it gives kids the downtime they need to move onto the next thing in their likely overscheduled little worlds. While my husband’s and my childhoods were filled with backyard adventures and plenty of imaginary play, I fear with the onslaught of the 24 hour kid’s channels (don’t get me wrong, I think Charlie and Lola is terrific), our children will fall into the trap of too much screen time and not enough time for dreaming.

Nonetheless, it’s essential to have a few go-to items that jump start your kiddos when they’re having a hard time figuring out something to do on their own. Simple, back-to-basics activities tend to keep our daughter entranced for hours. Some that we like:

• Campout — This works indoors or out. Just pull out the sleeping bags, tents, flashlights and scary stories. It’s especially fun if you also work in some fire-pit or fireplace s’mores…

• Neighborhood Polaroid Scavenger Hunt – We grab a few neighborhood buddies, make a list of 10 or so random items, split up into a couple of teams and arm everyone with a loaded Polaroid camera. The best part is meeting back at the house for cookies, hot chocolate and lemonade (depending on the season) to see which team found the most items.

• Holiday Mix Up — I think this is most fun on a really hot summer day (of which there are plenty in Texas). We crank up the AC and pile on sweaters, blast carols, decorate a little artificial tree, watch A Christmas Story, ice sugar cookies and unwrap a few token gifts. You could also celebrate the 4th of July in December, complete with sparklers, hot dogs and hamburgers and apple pie and ice cream.

• Bingo Tournament — There’s nothing better than a rousing bingo night at home, complete with prizes but sans all the pesky chain smoking you’d get down at the parlor. And when all other options have been exhausted, we pull out a few “hidden” toys from the game closet. I’m partial to the classics like Colorforms and Tinkertoys, as they encourage creativity, and you really can’t beat the packaging.