Ignore Your Kids: It’s Good for Them!

We’re supposed to love playing with our kids, and for about an hour, But after a full 60 minutes of lining ponies up across the living room floor for no reason other than you were ordered to, and perching said ponies on top of toy cars to zoom them under the couch, it’s time to get yourself out of there!

Just walk away and leave him or her to her own devices. Whether they want you to or not, just put THEM in the driver’s seat. Ignoring your kid is the only way to raise them. Kids who have the opportunity to say “I’m bored,” I’m finding, are usually pretty boring themselves.

Scientists at the University of Glasgow would agree. They’re working on a study on the impact of structured play on the future abilities of university students, and they’ve found the students whose parents micromanaged them as children are less confident as young adults. They’re used to their parents’ hovering, so they’re willing to let others take charge.

This is good news for today’s mom who has always worked at least part-time from home, she probably depends largely on her child’s independence to juggle the lifestyle that’s kept food on her table. It isn’t simply that she didn’t want to play with them. She can’t! Or, If you have an only child ,they will have to learn to entertain themselves early on because there is no regular playmate in the house to keep them occupied.

Leave your children be. It’s easier said than done, Mom and Dad, I know that. Times have changed. More good news about this study is that the toys we buy actually get played with. That’s putting our money to good use!

Do not feel guilty ignoring your child and telling them “go play.” Being  down on the floor for hours braiding pony hair and replacing batteries in noisy toys. But they are never in danger, they get plenty of love, and the scientists just gave us a big vote of confidence. So are you willing to take the risk that they willl be a bossy adult if it means I never hear the words “I’m booooored.”