"I'm Bored!"

It started before the school holidays had even begun - my son's old "I'm Bored!" song.

Now, in the good old days when I was a kid, we made our own entertainment. We climbed trees and built forts and rode our bikes and invented games. There was no TV in Zimbabwe, there was no "entertainment" on tap for us. Playstations and computers weren't around. Holidays were spent outside.

Not so for this kid. He's grown up on a diet of TV and computers. He has to be entertained - though he is good at keeping himself busy now and then with the huge pile of toys under and around his bed, many more than some other kids own.

He's gone through all our videos many times. Kid's TV really only begins next week once the schools up north go on holiday. His friends are irritating him (though they were all running around earlier this morning outside the office). He won't do anything with the dogs. He doesn't climb trees (not many climbable ones in the area) and although he's blessed with a wonderful imagination, he refuses to figure out how to build a fort or create anything else. Too much like hard work - which he certainly doesn't get enough of, that's for sure!

So what to do with a bored kid? Well, I found some printable mazes at mazoons, which are loads of fun. He's worked his way through a few of them. I've got him thinking about a big, illustrated letter to send to his grandparents. He can help clean the house tomorrow. His usual afternoon programmes are on TV later today. He's old enough to go swimming at the campus pool unsupervised, provided there are other people around. His gran has promised to send some activities by email to give him some ideas, and over the weekend we hauled out a load of readable books from storage in the garage.

Yet, he's still Bored!!!

And if I hear it one more time today I may just scream... :)

::update::
A package arrived from granny today - just in time! It contained Aussie nature programmes, bits and pieces from the National Geographic shop, a few nice Nat.Geo. brochures for us to drool over, and a fly-gun! That should stem the tide of boredom for a bit....