Kids Need Every Experience New, All the Time

They just need to learn to entertain themselves.

I think some children and parents get into a habit of the parents trying to always keep their children entertained and busy.. when really children need to learn how to do things and make up fun for them selves..

Just because you have already gone to the swimming pool does not mean you would not want to go again.

Going to an amusement park the next time.. he can concentrate on the things he enjoyed the first time.

Just because you rode your bike up and down the street once does not mean you do not want to continue to do that. We used to turn the bike upside down and use the wheels like a Ship captain.. or pull up chairs and pretend to be driving.. One chair in front of the other and pretend we were driving a taxi cab. bikes side by side and pretend we were racing cars.

We would make up our own carnivals, using our toys.. One person sold the tickets and explained the game and the other person was the customer.. Then trade off..

Children need to learn how to make up their own fun. In the back yard the toys could be turned into a toy store.. Lining them up on the picnic table.. another child is the customer, the other the shop keeper.

Line up every peddle vehicle and play traffic on the side walk or the drive way.

Give them 4 old sheets and let them figure out how to build a tent in the back yard.

Give them sidewalk chalk and have them draw a huge road on the drive way and "drive" their hot wheels around there with epic crashes.. ect..

When our daughter was little and had put together her puzzles over and over, I had her flip them over to the blank side and put them together.. Or I would flip over the puzzle to the blank side and have her draw a picture on the blank side so she could put it back together..

Or I would have her work 2 puzzles at one time.. Or 3 puzzles at one time.

Pour the pieces of the puzzles on the table and have her mix them all up and then work on separating them.

Have an area for them to make anything they want with found objects, glue etc..

They need to learn to do this.. No tv, computers or video games, just their own imaginations..
If we EVER told our mom we were bored there were 2 answers..

"Only boring People get bored.."

Or" if you are bored, I can give you a list of chores to keep you busy.."

It's a kid thing. They touch the surface of something, like a dragonfly on the water, and believe what they see/experience is all there is. They also might get in a mindset of "I deserve excitement today." Actually, that can happen at any age (even mine).

And, actually, too much excitement can make people lethargic! But they don't understand that. (I'm saying too much *excitement* - the amount of variety is something else, and people differ in their taste for variety.)

So you might get them to go deeper into what's already there, in a way that's works with each child's age. Of course, you'll have to take the lead for a while until your children get the hang of it themselves.

"Been there, done that with going to the park? Then you haven't explored enough. Here, take this magnifying glass and look at the park from a bug's view."

"Been there, done that with the back yard? Take these crayons and this paper and draw the most boring thing out there - in detail."

"Been there, done that with swimming? I don't think so. Can you swim a bit faster/farther today than you did yesterday? Let's keep track of it for a week."

"Been there, done that with karate? Talk to your instructor about it tonight, and ask him if he'll give you a challenge."

well, mine isn't like that, and i'm sure some of it is personality...but...

in a way isn't that just another version of being spoiled? sorry to say that, i'm sure you don't think they are, but with all the activities and "distractions" you mention, it sounds to me like they have been entertained their entire lives. just what it sounds like to me.

maybe it seems genetic because you were raised in the same "go-go-go" environment so you feel like there has to be something "new" and "exciting" going on constantly, too?

sometimes i just turn the tv and computer off for a night and we each do our own thing. for me, i will cook or bake and clean house, or read a book or work on something i've been meaning to do. lil man will play legos, color, read books. he can spend hours playing legos. i just don't see the need to constantly entertain him. i'm too selfish for that - i need some down time sometimes! lol!

i would cut back on activities just like i'd cut back on anything i felt wasn't being appreciated.

I wonder if our fast food, video on demand, multimedia culture is the culprit in this. Their whole little lives are filled with fast moving screens and motions. Do they watch a lot of tv? Maybe if you turn it off for awhile it might help them focus. I read that children in the younger generation are going to have a very hard time reading because they can't concentrate on a page long enough to absorb what is being said.

It's possibly your kids personalities and that's OK since God gives us a brand new day to experience all of the wonders of this life. I would just say get some sleep b/c you're gonna be busy for a while!

They are children!
They are in a constant state of exploration and growth. Their attention spans take years to develop. Parents get frustrated with five year olds for getting bored with a sport or not wanting to practice a skill. Hellooo, this is the only time in their lives where they can try everything, and where every new experience is truly NEW. This is the best part of being a parent IMO. Watching their eyes light up at their first sight of the ocean, or Disneyland or the Statue of Liberty. Watching their smiles get bigger and bigger as they finally "get" something, their first steps, riding their bikes without training wheels, scoring a goal, swimming the whole length of the pool.
Yes it's frustrating for parents when their tastes/interests change, but this is what growing up is all about. Trust me, when the hit their tweens/teens you'll be singing a different tune. They start to lose that spark and wonder, they start to get a little jaded, they start to worry about what everyone thinks about them and it is a sad thing to watch. They become more set in their ways, they become less willing to try new things. In a word: they start becoming adults.
Why rush that? Enjoy childhood, embrace it right along with them. It's fleeting. They've got a whole lifetime of hard work, repetition and monotony ahead of them.

I'm a little like this myself. While I might enjoy sushi, I wouldn't eat it twice in a week. I can't read a book or watch a movie a second time, no matter how much I enjoyed it the first time. I love camping and going to the beach, but while I will return to the same places year after year, I won't go to the same place twice in a summer. I would never buy a cottage, or have a pool in the back yard or even a playstructure, because then I would be stuck in the same place all the time. I got to the gym three times a week, but I can't do the same workout each time. After a day at a water park or an amusment park I would not want to return for some time. From the time my kids were little we went on new adventures daily, and my kids wouldn't have it any other way. In school I found this worked to my advantage because I was always ready to move on and learn something new. Just be thankful your kids didn't turn out to be boring homebodies!