Yesterday morning reminded that single moments of boredom can create perfect opportunities for independent play for children.
After we came in from walking Miss K to school, Little L chose to stay close to me while I went to the kitchen to prepare the dinner for the evening. She pulled a foot stool up to the stove top so she could watch me stirring a cheese sauce, asking questions all the time about what I was doing. After the dinner was made, the dishes were washed and stacked neatly on the drainer, we went and settled down together for story time. She begged for Rapunzel from our fairy tale basket, she listened and asked questions as I turned the pages of this stunning version of the old Brothers Grimm tale.
After story time had finished and she had untangled herself from my lap, I said that I needed to vacuum. I vaguely wondered if she would get upset at my need to do a job as she had been quite close to me that morning, if she would need me to entertain her in some way. Instead, that little pocket of boredom gave her a golden opportunity for independent, self directed play. She asked me if I could set out her play frame in her home corner, which I unfolded while she went and got the basket of play silks to peg onto her little house. Then she was ready for play! I was able to go and vacuum, while she steadily played with her baby dolls in her house until lunch time. By embracing and joyfully accepting her need for closeness early on in the day without comment or question, left her free to create and explore her own world through independent play when she was ready to pull away from me.
This made me realise how important an open mindset can be when you are with young children, being prepared to be accepting of what a particular moment may bring to you as a mother and to attend to those needs with an open heart. When she was right next to me, 'under my feet' in the kitchen, I could have chosen to ignore her need for closeness and simply say 'Go and play' to make it easier for me to prepare the evening meal and then feel frustrated if she started to whine, cry or tantrum. I chose not to push her away at that moment by asking her to entertain herself before she was emotionally ready too. When I needed to get a job done later on that wouldn't have been easy for her to help me with, she was ready and happy to have that distance from me, that much needed breathing space. Alongside that breathing space, came a moment of boredom, a true gift to children. You never know where creatively it may lead.
