Stay-at-Home Parents

» melissac64 - As a stay-at-home Mom, what's your secret to combating boredom?

Let's face it- even those of us who think we are "Supermoms" who delight in every new word our toddler utters and in every step he takes, even we fall prey at times to the boredom, or better word- the monotony -that comes with spending all of one's waking hours being a Mom who takes care of her children. What do you do to spice up your daily routine? What are some things you do to combat shhh! Mommy boredom?

-- posted by melissac64

» jcredmond - As a stay-at-home Mom, what's your secret to combating boredom?

In response to As a stay-at-home Mom, what's your secret to combating boredom? posted by melissac64:

What's wrong with being bored sometimes? When I worked outside the home, I was bored with my job from time to time. It happens. Have we as people, not just mothers, become so spoiled that we think we will never be bored?

Let's learn from our kids - they have the wonderful ability to find something new in just about anything.

What I try to remember when I have received a request to read "Franklin's Hallowe'en" for the millionth time is that even though I can almost recite the book by heart, my little one can't. So I try to find something interesting about the task at hand - use different voices for the characters or ask my daughter to guess which character is wearing which costume, or ask her to find something specific on the page.

My advice would be try to find *something* interesting about your "work" or just learn to ride out those times that you are bored. If you find that it is an extended period of time and you still have no interest in your *work* or you have nothing to look forward to, that might be the sign of another problem (depression?).

-- posted by jcredmond

» melissac64 - As a stay-at-home Mom, what's your secret to combating boredom?

Your take on "Mommy boredom” is so refreshing and I actually hadn't thought of it that way.
I think you offer some great tips about ways that we parents can, instead of seeing the glass has half empty, seeing it as half full, especially in regards to having to read the same story to our child. We can find new ways to read it, make it interactive, asks questions, give each character a voice- GREAT IDEAS. And I do agree that if, as a stay-at-home parent you are finding less and less enjoyment with the life you are leading and that you are finding yourself increasingly bored- that might be a sign that you might have a problem that is more serious than sheer boredom. As you mentioned, depression. Once again- thanks for the post, and you have actually taught me how to see things, like reading the same book, over and over again for a new and fresh perspective. Thanks!

-- posted by melissac64

» jcredmond - Perspective

In response to As a stay-at-home Mom, what's your secret to combating boredom? posted by melissac64:
I remember one day in particular when I was taking my oldest daughter to school: I had the younger one with me as well. It had snowed the night before (and was still snowing) and all I could think about was what a hassle it was to get them bundled up to go to school.

When I got there, I was talking with another parent about how lousy the weather was, blah, blah, blah, when I noticed my little one happily catching snowflakes on her tongue. Then she looked at me and said "Mommy, it looks like frosting everywhere!"

And you know what? She was absolutely right! So now I try to see more "frosting" and less "lousy weather" in my life. It's just a matter of perspective.

-- posted by jcredmond