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Creating space for downtime.
I’ve had a few conversations recently about downtime and how important it is for children, so I thought this week I’d just put out a reminder (yes, I’ve written about it before) about why it is so important and how you can make sure your child gets some regularly.
First of all, what do I mean by downtime?
As adults we all like a bit of space sometimes, don’t we? Time to recharge the batteries and do something that you enjoy. It’s such a big thing, especially if we have hectic lives but the trouble is, we sometimes forget to make sure our kids get it too. We make sure they have all the opportunities to do anything they are interested in, as well as making sure they do their homework, making sure they read every day, making sure they have something to do in between all the other stuff (because kids like to be busy, right?!).
Well, no. Kids need exactly the same as us. Time to recharge, time to do what they want and time to get interested in their own things (not just the things we sometimes think they want to do). When was the last time you let them do nothing? When was the last time you didn’t intervene in their day?
Just food for thought.
Downtime gives them chance to explore and experiment with different things that interest them. Allowing them the freedom to choose and go off to do what they want, is giving their creative brains chance to click into action and build the blocks of problem-solving and innovative thinking.
We know that sometimes, your child might just want to do nothing, and that’s ok too! Resting the brain after a busy day is what we all should do and knowing children as they are, I bet they don’t laze around for that long!