Psychologist advises not to overload children during the autumn break and to let them 'be bored'

Start of the school break and a psychologist's advice

Starting October 26, Russian schoolchildren who study in quarters begin their autumn break, and working parents face the question of what to keep their child occupied with. Child psychologist Darya Dugentsova, in a conversation with Life.ru, saidthat filling every day with entertainment and clubs is not necessary: it is important to leave children time for independent activities. According to her, ideally the child should not be sent to a camp at all during the break, but instead be engaged with independently, while keeping the usual activities — football, volleyball or karate — and something creative, such as music or drawing.

The benefits of 'boredom' and independent choice

The rest of the time, the specialist noted, should preferably not be filled up all day long: 'it is important not to forget to let him be bored.' In her view, this is a form of pastime in which a child can learn something new and keep himself occupied on his own. Dugentsova believes that modern parents make a mistake by endlessly loading the child up. She advises keeping the usual activities, and in the remaining time giving the child the opportunity to choose what to do himself: creative items, toys, and modelling materials should be within reach. 'Maybe he will try to cook something together with you, if you can afford it and enjoy it. Maybe it will be some board games. But it is important to give him the opportunity to choose his activities independently,' — Life.ru quotes the psychologist as saying.

Shared and individual activities

The psychologist recommends dividing activities into those shared with parents and individual ones. When a child is allowed to be bored, the parents explain that they are busy with work or household chores, and the child decides what to do himself. For shared leisure, adults should have an 'internal list': board games or outings, for example going outside to gather a herbarium and make crafts from it. Dugentsova noted that such activities 'help cultivate a child's sense of taste and style,' since nature is 'the only thing that truly picks colors brilliantly.' Once or twice a week, in her opinion, one can go somewhere organized: younger schoolchildren — on an excursion, teenagers — to an escape room. One should do, she emphasized, what both the child and the adult enjoy at the same time: if only one of them is having fun, the parent-child relationship will not develop harmoniously.

The cost of a week of the school break

Life.ru also turned to the financial side of the matter: the outlet calculated how much a week of entertainment for a child during the break might cost — taking into account the cinema, museums and clubs — and noted that with a sensible approach it can be a budget-friendly option for the whole family. The editorial conclusion from these publications is that the psychologist's advice and the expense calculation complement each other: to parents who cannot constantly fill their child's time with paid entertainment, the expert directly offers an alternative — independent and inexpensive shared activities. In practical terms, this means the break can be organized without a camp and a packed schedule, keeping only the usual activities and one or two organized outings per week.