This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.

Are Your Kids Bored?

One of my most vivid memories from when I was a kid was sitting despondently on a swing in the swingset in my backyard, dragging my feet in the dirt, certain I would die from absolute boredom.

And then I sauntered off to harass one of my sisters or brother. Or I jumped the fence and, in search of a rousing game of four square, ran off to join the Forresters, who lived nearby and had a family of a gazillion kids. Or I went inside to read a book. Or, if I was really feeling ambitious, I would drag my bike out of the tangle in the garage and ride it to Salter’s, the corner drug store.

In other words, like most kids lucky enough to grow up in the relative peace and quiet of the suburbs, I had no good excuse to be bored. My parents were wise enough to leave us to our own devices own boredom. The way we did it often led to some of my most vivid summer memories.

Those memories including snapping whirlygigs, or winged seeds, in half, then dropping each half off the second floor porch at my grandparent’s house, and watching them twirl like little helicopters to the ground; and running through the sprinkler in the yard, the dog nipping at my heels; and my lifelong love for and obsession with reading was developed mainly by the books that came to my rescue during the summer. I didn’t just read about Nancy Drew and The Secret of the Old Clock, I was right there next to her when she ran into the snotty, social-climbing Topham sisters at the department store.

Crossing That Bridge

As parents, we plan the big vacations, organize the movie nights out, and pack picnics for the concerts on the green. These, for sure, are the way memories are made. Still, it’s sometimes funny what exactly what we remember.

“We would go to the Cape every summer for two weeks,” says Joan Walker, who lives in Madison. “As soon as we crossed over the bridge, my dad would relax and be in vacation mode. Even now, as I travel to see him weekly, I relax just a bit when I cross over the bridge and smell the scrub pines.”

I’m sure that Joan and her family made many great memories at the Cape, but I love that the memory that first came to mind was her dad relaxing into vacation mode. Kids really like it when their parents are relaxed.

So here’s to relaxing and kicking back in vaca mode, whether it’s for an entire two weeks, for an evening, or just for a blessed few hours here and there. And if your kids complain they’re bored, and you don’t have time right this minute to solve that for them, good. They’ll figure it out themselves.

Here is a list of some favorite summer memories from me and my friends. Maybe it’ll spark a few ideas for you and your kids. I’d love to hear yours memories and ideas. Email me at p.mcnerney@shorepublishing.com.

• Running through the sprinkler

• Riding bikes around the neighborhood

• Chasing the Good Humor truck for a bomb pop (and somehow the treat was always a bit sweeter if the money was earned)

• Hanging out in Stony Creek at Indian Point, and fishing off the dock

• “Running around in bare feet through my grandparents yard and stepping on cherries that would paint my feet”

• Playing neighborhood kickball or foursquare on a dead-end street

• Flashlight tag

• Making gimp necklaces

• Playing in the woods

• Catching fireflies

• Hanging out in a tree house

• Sidewalk chalk

• Watching the clouds pass by in the sky

• Crabbing and clamming in Leete’s Island

• Hanging out at the neighborhood pool and playing cards in the snackbar

What? Your kids have never played flashlight tag? Point them to this guide in Wikihow: www.wikihow.com/Play-Flashlight-Tag. Wondering what they need to catch fireflies? The requirements are pretty basic. Here’s a guide: www.firefly.org/how-to-catch-fireflies.html. And maybe your kids are bored with basic gimp necklaces? Tell them to take it to a whole ’nother level: www.gimplace.com. As for four square, the rules and equipment requirements are pretty simple, but if your kids complain that playing the same-old, same-old gets boring, send them to this website: www.squarefour.org/coolrules, which will introduce them to the world of backboards, baubling, black magic, and bus stop. Wondering what a whirlygig is? Wonder no more. Also known as a samara, it is basically a tree seed with paper-like wings that allows it to fly away from the parent tree. They are also sometimes called keys, or wingnuts, or helicopters, or spinning jennies.