Of all the random calendar holidays in our country… this is a new one. Wait; but it’s not – apparently we’ve been forgetting to celebrate it since the late 80’s. Alan Caruba started National Anti-Boredom month, which technically starts July 1st every year but was really only meant to be observed after July 4th Independence Day. Why? July is the dead middle of the summer. It’s way too hot, the kids have been home for at least a month, and you’ve got at least another 6 weeks to go before they’re occupied from 8am-3pm again.
It can get difficult, especially if you’re also juggling an office life, to find ways to keep the kids entertained (and yourself sane) during the summer. But boredom isn’t a healthy state of mind for any of you. It has poor effects on your mood and can affect your motivation. Apparently, there are 9 different types of boredom… people are a lot more focused on boredom than we thought, I guess. Specifically, chronic boredom can lead to:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Irritability
- Lethargy/ lack of motivation
- Feeling withdrawn
- Weakened immune system
- Increased risk of heart problems (in adults)
Supposedly, you might actually be able to die from boredom. Well, it’s not actually that simple. But chronic boredom puts chronic stress on your heart and pumps cortisol into your system, both of which have been shown to increase the risk of early death.
Okay, so what are we supposed to do?
What are We Supposed to Do to Keep Ourselves Entertained?
There are some easy ways you can keep the kids occupied, switch up the daily drudgery and create some fun memories. It not actually life and death, but it’s never a bad idea to try new things and spend some quality time together. There’s day camps, crafts, afternoon trips to the park, picnics with food the kids made, squirt guns in the backyard. Other things you can try are:
- Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity
- Go to a museum
- Visit friends or family
- Team up with the neighbors and rotate days for activities at each house
And, of course, there’s always family game and movie nights.
Ideas for Family Movie Night in Your Home Theater
You might be wondering why you’d want to be in a dark room when the sun is out. Well, maybe because it’s also 90 out. What’s better after a long, hot day than sitting in a comfy recliner and blasting the AC? Only thing left to do is decide what movie you’re going to watch. Or you could always hook the gaming system up to the projector and yell at each other over rounds of Mario Kart. And since this holiday was founded in the late 80’s, here are some suggestions of classic fun family movies from that era:
- What About Bob?
- The Goonies
- Big
- The Sandlot
- Back to the Future
- Groundhog Day
- Jumanji
- Three Amigos!
- Clue
- The Princess Bride
The best thing about this list of family comedies is that these are movies every age of child and adult can enjoy. It’ll help you get out of your boredom rut and the kids will see some “very old” movies they’d probably never seek out on their own. Go ahead, mix up movie night!