Why boredom may be exactly what kids need: expert

Youth care professor Calissa NgoziIs on how constant stimulation is creating a mental health problem for kids.

In a world where children are rarely more than a swipe away from entertainment, boredom has become something to avoid at all costs.

But according to Calissa Ngozi, a mental health expert and child and youth care professor at Mohawk College, that constant stimulation may be doing more harm than good.

Ngozi told CTV’s Your Morning Tuesday that children are growing up in an environment filled with non-stop noise, screens and structured activities, leaving little room for quiet and unstructured time.

“We’ve lost the art of pause,” she said, pointing to everything from background television to YouTube videos and highly engaging video games that are designed to keep children hooked.

The result she said “starts to play with their psyche.”

The overstimulation, Ngozi warned, is increasingly linked to mental health challenges among children and youth.

According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), approximately one in five Canadians are diagnosed with a mental illness by the age 25, with the majority, 70 per cent, experiencing symptoms before age 18.

The rates of children and youth visiting physicians for mental health disorders were 16,029 per 100,000 children and youth, aged five to 24, between the years of 2023 and 2024, CIHI reported.

This signalled an eight per cent increase above the rate compared to the years of 2018 to 2019.

Ngozi points to the rising levels of anxiety, depression, loss of focus and emotional dysregulation. Without opportunities to experience boredom, children are not developing the skills needed to self-regulate or cope with discomfort.

“Kids are also being easily triggered,” she said. “Things that for you and me might be super small is blowing up into these massive arguments and tantrums because these kids don’t know how to regulate because we’re not giving them the tips, tricks and tools as to how to go through it.”

Boredom breeds creativity

Ngozi encourages parents to reframe how they respond when children say they are bored, emphasizing that discomfort does not need to be immediately fixed.

“Acknowledge the face that boredom is OK,” she said, suggesting parents offer simple options rather than constant entertainment.

“Why don’t you go read a book, play a game, build Lego.”

Ngozi added that allowing children to sit with boredom helps teach independence and balance.

“We need to start instilling in these kids that there is not always going to be someone that’s not always going to be someone to help you along the way,” she said.

“We want to make sure that we’re raising kids that turn into adults that are not only productive, but adults that also understand what it means to just take a chill time and not always have to be over-scheduled.”

Ngozi warns that shielding children from boredom can create long-term challenges.

“There’s going to be high tensions. They’re going to panic whenever there’s things that aren’t going their way. It goes back to that emotional regulation piece,” she explained.

She said parents must also lead by example. “Kids will call you out,” Ngozi said. “You can’t tell them to get off screens while you’re scrolling.”

Ngozi also suggested keeping screen time limited. “Kiddos should not be on any tablet screen or system an hour before bedtime.”