Children, screen time, and boredom
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Why might EU restrictions on children’s social‑media use spark a boredom crisis?
With the EU proposing restrictions on children's access to social media, parents could soon find themselves dealing with a very familiar complaint. I'm bored. But should parents rush to fill that gap, or is boredom actually good for children? Joining me now are Joanna Fortune, child and adolescent psychotherapist and Sinead Fox, blogger, at bumblesofrice dot com. Good morning to you both. Thanks, Amelia, for joining us. Joanna Um if this does come to a pass and if children are used to spending a lot of time on their screens, what should parents expect when they're suddenly not able to get access? R
I think, you know, even your intro there, David, was so on the on the button because I think as adults or parents specifically, we're terrified when our children say they're bored. I think it sends a chill down our spine. But actually I'm a big fan of boredom. I would advocate for children to have more boredom in their lives because it has a developmental value. It helps them to develop, to express a desire of their own, but it's essential in engaging their capacity to self-organize, to begin to regulate their own emotions. So I think the capacity to be bored is actually a developmental milestone for children, but they need us as parents to hold that experience with them, but not get pulled into sabotaging it with destruction.
Yeah. Which we do when our children say they're bored, we jump in, you could do this and you could do that and you could go here.
How can parents encourage healthy boredom instead of rushing to fill it?
Actually we need to leave them in that state.
Oh, okay. So uh you're suggesting that rather than jumping in with uh with suggestions we should we should leave them to to come up with the suggestions themselves or is there a middle ground where you can help to guide them or or maybe give them options or what what would you recommend?
You're right. You're right. Now there is because simply I don't want anyone hearing me say that and go, fantastic, hands off the wheel, let them at it. Because uh you know, under stimulation is not the same as boredom. You know, what we're talking about here is to be truly engaged and present in the activities that children have, and they've so many of them, they also need time to do nothing, to just sit and be. There is a fine line. I think our role as parents is to suggest without imposing. And I think that can be a finer line than it needs to be. But we should not be afraid of boredom because actually the chronic overstimulation that we're seeing in children and young people's lives and their brains.
And also, David, to be honest, with adults, I a lot everything I'm saying would also apply to us adults. Nobody really takes the opportunity. opportunity to simply sit and be, we're ca we're always mindlessly scrolling. So I I mean first of all I welcome, you know, the guidelines from the EU. So
What’s the difference between a genuine meltdown and a simple protest when screen time is cut?
I think that's great. But we shouldn't see this as, well, gosh, now what will the kids do? Let's find
out. Okay. I mean how just just to get back to the t the in initial thing I was I I was asking about, I mean, how are children likely to react if they become used to having access to these distraction machines and suddenly they're they're not allowed to get get at them anymore? I mean, uh can you expect meltdowns?
I think you can and and to, you know, differentiate between what is a meltdown and what is simply a protest. I think uh you know, none of our children are going to high five us and go, fantastic, where have those boundaries and limits been all my life? That's not their job. Their job is to test and defy boundaries. It's our job to hold them gently and firmly in place. So I think there will be children and they'll have all kinds of struggles, children who are prone for all kinds of reasons To overstimulation and then meltdowns, because a meltdown is when your brain is so overwrought that you stop an activity and you melt down. I think you talk with them and you it's you, you know, as parents, we've someone else to blame here, which is always reassuring.
We can say, Well, look, these are the guidelines and we have to take this seriously, and here's what we're going to do.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
Why might EU restrictions on children’s social‑media use spark a boredom crisis?
0:01–1:30
2
How can parents encourage healthy boredom instead of rushing to fill it?
1:30–2:42
3
What’s the difference between a genuine meltdown and a simple protest when screen time is cut?
2:42–4:00
4
How should parents balance guidance and freedom when kids feel bored?
4:00–5:11
5
What practical strategies can families use to re‑introduce structure and low‑stimulus activities?
5:11–6:37
6
How do teens likely respond to a social‑media ban and what can parents do about it?
6:37–7:53
7
Do children with additional needs require a different approach to screen‑time limits?
7:53–9:18