Moooom, I'm booooored

[flutterbee]

I don't expect to be hearing those words much anymore. Lately, easy child - you know, the 16 year old - has been coming to me a lot with that.

So, today he did and I told him to run the vacuum.

easy child: That's not fun.
Me: So. Run the vacuum.
easy child: Is that a demand?
Me: Yes. Run the vacuum.
easy child: Why are you mad at me?
Me: I'm not, but if you're going to come to me and complain of being bored, I'm going to find something for you to do.

:smile:

Somehow they have it in their head that it is still my job to entertain them. If they come to me and say they want to watch a movie together or play cards or talk or whatever, that's different. But, at their age it is not my job to entertain them.

Now on to difficult child. She always - and I do mean always - walks into the room, sits down and announces, "I'm hungry." Which leads to me saying, 'That's nice' or 'Find something to eat' and her announcing that there is nothing. We could eat off what is in the house for a month without going to the store.

She's almost 13. She is perfectly capable of finding something to snack on. But, instead, what she wants me to do is offer her things. So, from now on when she announces it, I'm going to find her something and she is going to eat it whether she likes it or not. Either that, or she can find something herself.

By likes it or not, meaning whether that's what she wants or not. I'm not going to give her something I know she doesn't like - and there isn't much of that, anyway. I'm just tired of offering things and everything is, 'I don't want that'. Why ask then? Just one of those things that drives me up the wall.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

difficult child: Mom, I'm hungry.
W: Here, dear - have a dish of stewed prunes.
difficult child: EEEWWWW. I don't like that.
W: If you don't like 'em now, wait until after you eat them. Now eat up.

:devil:


Oh wait - I just realized you said you wouldn't offer things you know she doesn't like. Never mind.

 

[meowbunny]

I was guilty of those two. I also had a mother who definitely hated to say no to me. So, she would offer suggestion after suggestion for things to do or eat, all of which I would turn down. I usually didn't know what I wanted, it just wasn't what was suggested or something I knew really wasn't an option.

Finally, when I was around 17 my mother got smart. After spending an afternoon moving the wood to the other side of the house, I never again said I was bored. When she fixed me a PB&J sandwich and told me I had to eat it (I loathe peanut butter!), that was the end of my announcing I was hungry. From that point on, I would ask if she could do something with me or if I could do what I wanted and I was very good about getting my own food. The next thing I know, she would have had me eating pig's feet (which she loved!).

 

[1905]

Heather you have my exact problem!!! It gets so frustrating, they're big, they can find things themselves. I know it's my own fault, like I'm a restaurant or something. Then after all this I go out to the store at 10pm. I'm an idiot, there's plenty of food here. I am a restaurant. Let's try to just say, "You're a smart boy/girl, I'm sure you'll figure something out".( Knowing mine, they'll just go to bed hungry.)They don't get bored, but are hungry all the time.-Alyssa

 

[Hound dog]

Heather

The method worked with all my kids. :smile:

Might be the best thing I ever learned from my Mom. OMG! You didn't Dare say you were bored around that woman! :surprise: You'd be scrubbing the bathroom down with a toothbrush and comet.

 

[Star*]

True Story:


Dude came to me one hot, sunny afternoon - and did the "I'm booored" thing with me.

I jumped up, told him to put on his work clothes, get gloves, shovels and a tarp - I'd get the icewater and chairs

He did - I did and we met in a corner of the front yard. I handed him the shovels and said DIG - he did - boy he was excited, we were DOING something now - and about 30 minutes later - he had a good hole dug. He said "How's this?" and I said "Wider, deeper!" and he kept digging. I left and went in the house, got more ice water, threw in a load of laundry, unloaded the dishwasher and came back out to find him STILL digging."

He said "Hows this Momma?" and I said "A little bigger." and then he turned to me and said "Well how big does it gotta be?" and I said "I dunno. Are you still bored?" and he said "No, but what are we doing this for?" and I said (are you ready)

So we can fill it back in- Are you still bored? And he said NO - and I said GOOD - now fill it all back in - and don't come to me when you are bored - find something to do.

I NEVER and I mean NEVER EVER EVER heard he was bored again.

WE had the attention of passers by, DF, and DF even took pictures of us in the hole - when it was done it was 12' long and 4' deep or so - and in the shape of a kidney -

 

[totoro]

I LOVE IT!!!!
What horrible Mamma's... those poor deprived children... traumatized.

 

[flutterbee]

Star -



You win.



:bow:

 

[tiredmommy]

My aunt once made all us kids (eight total) clean the baseboards throughout her entire house. We all learned to fly low under the radar after that!

 

[Hound dog]

Star

You are the Queen Boredome Buster. :bow:

Honestly, I never though anyone would bump dear ol' Mom off her throne.

:rofl:

 

[goldenguru]

When my kids were smaller, I actually kept of list of "bore chores". Yup, that's what I called them.

If they DARED to say to me "I'm bored" they knew the result.

Washing the windows, baseboards, sweeping the garage, pulling weeds, dusting light fixtures - were great cures for being bored.

It was amazing what they would find to do with themselves to avoid the dreaded "bore chore" list.

As far as hunger goes - at 13, I would just ignore the hungry comments. Hunger is a great motivator. If she's really hungry, she'll feed herself. Probably what she's really saying is "I'm bored". We so often mistake negative emotions for hunger.

 

[Pam R]

OMG, Star!!

You definately win!!

Oh, I love this!

Too bad it would not work here. He'd figure it out in just a few minutes. :hammer:

Pam R.

 

[Star*]

- I had mentioned wanting a koi pond -

For me that meant - fish, serenity, sound of water falling on rocks - you know - a haven.

For him it meant - and I KID YOU NOT - (because I already HAD a small koi and rock waterfall at our rental house before I bought this one) Dude got it it with ALL the neighbor kids, used it as a pool - (I was gone in the bathroom for 2 minutes) came out to find all my flowers carefully trampled on - and my fish in jars and buckets sitting on the side of the "pond".

So when I mentioned at this house I may build a pond - he thought this was HIS chance to have a wading pool - even though we HAVE a pool - (and he recked that running at a full on flying Dude from the other side of the yard and leaping into it at the last minute - to have all the chemically treated water on the ground and the liner moved and eventually ripped) DF was NEVER more angry at difficult child (to that point) lol

So it was at best self serving - but I laugh evertime I come across the picture of us standing waist deep in a hole - from boredom.

No - never got my koi pond - have 2 fish in a tank in the kitchen - they love me.

 

[flutterbee]

Well, noone ever said my kids were quitters. :smile:

Since, the 'I'm bored' wasn't getting the desired effect, he started last night with, 'Moooooom. I'm tiiiiiiiiired.' At first I ignored him, but he didn't go away. So, eventually told him...duh...to go to bed. 'But, I don't wannnnnna go to bed.'

Something about a 16 year old whining that sets my teeth on edge.

 

[susiestar]

Star, you are a Goddess among women.

 

[Big Bad Kitty]

I was outsmarted by a 1st grader today with this "I'm bored" stuff. Tink stayed home sick today, and I wasn't feeling great either. I gave her as much attention as I could, really. So I'm laying on the couch, drifting off, and she's laying on me. "break's over mom. Time to play with me". I'm like I just played with you for 2 hours straight. She says that I have to KEEP playing with her because she has nobody else to play with. I finally told her that she had to entertain herself.

"But MOM I have NOTHING to DO and I am so BORED".

"You're bored? Sweep the floor."

"How much are you gonna pay me?"

"HA! Child, I am not gonna pay you."

"well then I'm not doing it"

Mind you I was half asleep and not up to an argument. I really had no comeback to that. Truthfully, at that point I'd have paid her to leave me alone. Good LORD did she drive me nuts today.