Boredom Busters for Kids: What to Do When They Say "I'm Bored"

If you’ve heard “Mooooom, I’m bored!” more times than you can count this week, you are definitely not alone. It’s the soundtrack of summer break, snow days, rainy Saturdays, and that weird stretch between dinner and bedtime. And I’ll be honest, after the hundredth time, it gets to me too! That’s exactly why I put together this big list of boredom busters for kids to keep on hand all year long.

Here’s what I’ve learned as a mom though: a little boredom is actually a good thing for kids. I know, it doesn’t feel that way when you hear it three times before 10 a.m. But when kids get bored, they have to get creative. They build forts, they make up games, they turn a cardboard box into a spaceship..

So today I’m sharing everything that’s worked in our house. I’ve got a giant list of ideas for every season and every age, and of course our free Summer Boredom Busters printable that you can print and hang up this week.

Why “I’m Bored” Can Actually Be a Good Thing

I know this is the opposite of what you want to hear when your kid is whining in the kitchen, but stay with me!

When kids are bored, their brains get to work. They come up with their own games. They invent stories. They finally decide to try that craft kit they got for Christmas. The kid who’s always handed an activity never has to dream one up.

So my very first tip, before we get to the big list: don’t rush to fix it. When my kids say “I’m bored,” sometimes I just say “Okay!” and keep doing what I’m doing. Nine times out of ten, five minutes later they’ve started building something wild in the living room or asking if they can bake cookies.

That said, moms need some backup! Because “go figure it out” doesn’t always work, and sometimes you truly need ideas to throw at them. That’s what this post is for.

Set Up a Boredom Buster System Before You Need It

The best thing I’ve ever done in our house is set up a plan for boredom before it happens. Once a kid is already whining, no one feels very creative. But if you already have something ready to go, you can just point to it!

Here’s what works for us:

Print the free Summer Boredom Busters list and hang it somewhere the kids can see it (the fridge, the playroom, the mudroom). Wherever they hang out the most. Grab the Summer Boredom Busters Printable here.
Make a boredom buster jar. Cut the list into strips, fold them up, and toss them in a mason jar. When someone’s bored, they pick a slip!
Pair it with a summer punch card. Every time they do an activity off the list, they get a punch. Finish a card and they earn a fun little reward.
Build it into a summer schedule. Even a loose daily rhythm (morning outside time, quiet hour after lunch, free play before dinner) makes a huge difference. The day already has a shape, so there’s way less “what do I do now?”

When you put these together, you’ve basically got a whole summer system that runs itself. Below is a list of 100+ things to do when kids are bored.

The Big List: 100+ Things to Do When Kids Are Bored

Save this post, pin it, print it. Whatever you need to do to have it handy when the whining starts! I’ve organized everything by setting and season so you can find something that fits the day.

Indoor Activities (perfect for rainy days, sick days, and the dead of winter)

Build a blanket fort and read inside it
Play with playdough
Have an indoor picnic on the living room floor
Play hide and seek (still a classic!)
Do an indoor scavenger hunt (write a list of things to find around the house)
Turn a big cardboard box into a car, a house, a rocket, or a puppet theater
Host a stuffed animal tea party
Put on a puppet show for the family
Make paper airplanes and see how far they fly
Do a science experiment (vinegar and baking soda never gets old)
Bake something simple together, like our easy pull-apart cinnamon bread
Have a dance party with the speaker on full blast
Build an obstacle course with couch cushions
Play “restaurant” where the kids take orders and make sandwiches for the family
Do a puzzle (and leave it out for days!)
Write letters to grandparents, cousins, or friends
Start a family gratitude jar
Sort through toys and pick some to donate
Make a scrapbook of memories
Learn origami from a YouTube tutorial
Try a fun kids’ craft from our archives
Have an art challenge. Everyone draws the same thing in their own style
Build a LEGO creation with a specific theme
Set up a pretend school, office, or post office
Play charades as a family
Read aloud together (even the big kids love this)

Outdoor Activities (when the weather cooperates!)

Ride bikes or scooters around the neighborhood
Chalk the driveway with hopscotch, murals, or a whole obstacle course
Run through the sprinkler
Set up a lemonade stand
Go on a nature walk with a bug jar or magnifying glass
Build a fairy garden or a bug hotel
Have a water balloon fight
Wash the car together (they’ll actually think it’s fun)
Plant something (herbs, flowers, or a tomato plant on the patio)
Make mud pies and leaf salads
Set up a driveway obstacle course
Climb a tree
Fly a kite
Play catch, soccer, basketball, or anything with a ball
Blow bubbles (the giant wand kind is magical!)
Do a backyard scavenger hunt (smooth rock, yellow flower, feather, acorn…)
Paint rocks and hide them around the neighborhood
Try one of the 50 free summer activities from our archives

Creative Activities (for the kid who needs a project)

Write a story or start a little book
Make a mini magazine
Start a journal or nature journal
Do a self-portrait
Let them use your phone and take photos, then make a little album
Make a stop-motion video with toys
Record a fake news show or a podcast
Design an ad for a made-up product
Write and illustrate a comic book
Teach themselves to draw something new from a YouTube tutorial
Make homemade birthday or thank-you cards
Start a recipe book with drawings of their favorite meals

Quiet / Calm-Down Activities (perfect for the overstimulated afternoon)

Read a book! (Pair it with our Summer Reading Bingo for some extra motivation)
Listen to an audiobook or kids’ podcast
Color in a coloring book
Do a word search or crossword
Try some kids’ yoga or meditation (there are some great YouTube channels for this)
Do a paint-by-numbers
Write in a journal
Take a long bubble bath
Build quietly with LEGOs
Organize their toy bins or art supplies

Sneaky Learning Activities (they’ll have fun and you’ll secretly love it)

Learn a magic trick from YouTube
Learn to juggle
Do a fun reading challenge
Practice typing on an online typing game
Learn a few phrases in a new language on Duolingo
Research a country and plan a pretend trip there
Learn to cook one new recipe
Start learning chess
Plant a bean in a cup and watch it grow
Memorize a poem
Read a chapter of a book and tell you all about it

Boredom Busters for Kids by Season

Summer Boredom Busters

Summer is peak “I’m bored” season because the days are so long and unstructured! This is where our free printable Boredom Busters list really shines. A few summer-specific favorites:

Set up a backyard water park day (sprinkler + slip-and-slide + water balloons)
Have a popsicle taste test
Do the whole Summer Reading Bingo challenge
Make homemade ice cream in a bag
Do a watermelon footprint craft
Try our 5 simple summer crafts
Use the July Activity Planner to theme each day of the week
Have a backyard camping night

Fall Boredom Busters

Go apple picking and bake something with the haul
Collect leaves and make a leaf-pressing book
Carve pumpkins (or paint them, which is a lot less messy!)
Do a nature hunt for acorns, pinecones, and seed pods
Make homemade apple cider
Do a Halloween costume dress rehearsal
Rake leaves into a giant pile and jump in

Winter Boredom Busters

Build a snowman or a snow fort
Have a hot chocolate taste test with different toppings
Make paper snowflakes
Do a home movie marathon with homemade popcorn
Play board games (seriously, dust them off!)
Have an indoor camping night with sleeping bags in the living room
Write letters to Santa, the Easter Bunny, or a faraway grandparent
Try new winter crafts. Snow globes and paper lanterns are always a hit

Spring Boredom Busters

Plant a garden or start seeds in egg cartons
Go puddle jumping (rain boots optional, apparently!)
Go bird-watching with a pair of binoculars
Hunt for signs of spring. Look for buds, worms, and the first flowers
Try a fresh spring craft, like our coffee filter flowers

Age-by-Age Tips for the “I’m Bored” Chorus

The same list works a little differently depending on how old your kid is. Here’s what’s worked for us at each age:

Toddlers (1-3)

Toddlers don’t really say“I’m bored.” They just get cranky or extra clingy! At this age, the best boredom buster is usually something sensory or physical, like a bin of rice and scoops, a water table, a quick walk around the block, or a big pile of pillows to flop onto. Simple is best.

Preschoolers (3-5)

This is the age where “I’m bored” often really means “I want you to play with me.” Sometimes you can, and those are the sweetest moments! But they also need some practice entertaining themselves. A “busy box” with rotating activities works great at this age. Think a tray of stickers, a pile of magnetic tiles, some coloring pages. Swap in new things every few days to keep it fresh.

Early Elementary (6-8)

Now you can really lean into the printable list! Kids this age love checking things off, earning punches, and “winning.” Pair the boredom busters listwith a punch card and you’ve basically won the summer. They also love being given a “job” like setting the table, watering plants, or folding washcloths.

Big Kids & Tweens (9-13)

Bigger kids will roll their eyes at “the list,” so turn it into a challenge! Can they do ten things from the list in a week? Can they invent five of their own? Tweens also do really well with projects that take a few days: building something, writing a chapter a day of a story, or learning something new on YouTube. Screens will be a constant negotiation at this age (trust me, I know!), and our Summer Reading Bingois one of my favorite ways to trade a little screen time for reading time.

The Whole Summer System for Beating Boredom

I mentioned this at the top and I want to come back to it. Individual activities are great, but what’s really kept things sane in our house is stacking a few of our free printables together into one system:

Summer Schedule. Gives the day a loose rhythm so the kids know what to expect. This alone cuts down on so much of the “I’m bored!” because there’s always a next thing coming.
Summer Reading Bingo. A built-in reading challenge with fun rewards. Perfect for the independent reading part of the day.
Summer Punch Cards. Tracks activities, chores, and kindness, with a reward at the end of each card.
Summer Boredom Busters printable. The go-to list when “I’m bored” happens between the scheduled stuff.

Print them all, hang them up, and point to them when the complaints start. Suddenly you’re not the one in charge of the whole day. The system is!

A Few Little “House Rules” That Have Helped

A couple of things that have really cut down on the “I’m bored” chorus in our house:

Screens don’t count as a boredom buster. If they’re bored, they have to try something from the list first. Screen time can happen later.
Messy activities get a “yes” when I have the energy for them, and a “not today” when I don’t. No guilt! Slime day will come eventually.
Outside first. If the weather is nice, everyone heads outside before I entertain any indoor ideas.
One “I’m bored” = one chore. This is my favorite trick. If “I’m bored!” happens three times in a row, it magically turns into “I’ll go find something to do.” Works every time!

Grab the Free Printable & Get Started

Ready to set up your own boredom-busting plan? Start here:

👉 Download the free Summer Boredom Busters printable. Hang it up, cut it into strips for a jar, or use it as-is!

And if you want to build out the whole summer system, here are the other pieces:

Summer Schedule (Free Printable) for the daily rhythm
Summer Reading Bingo Challenge, our most-downloaded summer printable!
Summer Punch Cards for tracking goals and earning rewards
Fun Summer Reading Log, a great companion to Reading Bingo
50 Free Summer Activities for Kids for more ideas to add to your list
Countdown to Summer Printable to build the excitement before summer even starts

For more fun ideas, check out these posts:

Make sure to follow our Pinterest boards for more fun & inspiring ideas for kids!

(Visited 69 times, 1 visits today)