A sensitive and supportive story to help children learn practical strategies for coping with boredom and loneliness.
“Momma, I’m bored.” Sometimes When I’m Bored addresses a common complaint from children: boredom and loneliness. Along with the main character, children learn how to recognize boredom and see the opportunities it might present. “Well, what a wonderful thing to be! When you're bored, something special is waiting for you.”
Helping young children learn how to redirect feelings of boredom deepens problem-solving skills and builds the ability to shift negative thoughts to more positive ones. Using gentle and straightforward language, Sometimes When I’m Bored describes a child’s experience with boredom and loneliness and the many fun ways to relieve the feeling of boredom.
A special section for adults offers more information on how boredom can be spotted in children of varying ages—including infants—and discusses how to help children relieve feelings of boredom. Especially useful for counselors, social workers, teachers, parents, and any other adults caring for children who experience boredom and loneliness.
“Now when I’m bored, I know something special is waiting for me. I just have to find it.”
Sometimes When Series
With quiet, sensitive illustrations, the Sometimes When collection helps young children work through big feelings, such as sadness and anger. The stories are accessible to children and grounded in research from an author with over thirty years of experience as a clinical psychologist. A special section at the back of each book provides more information for adults and activities to help young children work through their feelings.
I chose this book because of the title. I wanted to see if it would prove to be a book I could recommend to mothers of young children, which includes my daughter.
It turned out to be so much more than I expected. There’s the front section that the parent reads to the child which gives suggestions in childlike terms and then the back portion is for the parents in adult language.
The back section breaks down the psychology of boredom and gives suggestions for redirection and facilitation of growth in areas of time management and problem solving. It helps child and parent(s) work together toward an uplifting outcome.
It also provides a gentle guide as to when your child might need more help than you can provide and a list of resources to assist in seeking said help.
Things I Liked
- Artwork worked well with the story
- Parents are guided to be supportive instead of ignoring his plight or settling him in front of the TV with a snack
- The two parts of the book
What Gave Me Pause
- I feel like I should point out that neither the author nor the illustrator is African-American. Usually when you see an image of an African American child on the book cover the author is African-American.
I recommend this book to parents who have a child who is really bright and gets bored easily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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15 December, 2023:
Finished reading
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15 December, 2023:
Reviewed