It’s one thing for me to be bored, popping a squat on the couch and sticking my fingers into a bag of chips nice bag of measured out healthy almonds while chomping away mindlessly.
(Of course it’s not a good habit to be mindlessly eating anything, but at least it’s me.)
It’s quite another thing, however, when my kids fall victim to this too.
Recently I was doing some work and they were playing. The tv was on in the background. It is our daily scenario right now: I get a little work done right after breakfast and before the swim lessons and the playing and naps that take over the rest of the day. And meantime, they play with their toys and/or watch tv. It is not a long window, but it’s a window nonetheless, for me to get something done.
At some point, I notice them getting bored with their toys and begin to focus on the tv. But then what follows is: “I’m hungry, I want a snack.”
And I wrestle. Are they hungry? Or are they just bored?
Because they just had breakfast.
So that’s what I ask.
Of course, at 5 years old, Aidan doesn’t know the answer to that question, but it is up to me to help him find it. Instead of eat, we go and we find something else to do and magically, the hunger is gone.
Voila!
But it’s amazing and baffling to me how interchangeable boredom and hunger can become, even with the little ones. They will literally eat all day if I let them. As soon as they are bored, they ask me, “What can I eat?”
It’s a scary path that can be very dangerous if I am not careful. A scary path that I have fallen victim to too many times and if I don’t watch out, I’ll pave it for them too.
This for me was a wake-up call because what if I believed them?
What if I was less aware than I am now? They’d be eating all day long!
As far as our morning window? I’ve got the arsenal of activities ready: the paint, the crayons, the chalk, the crafts, the games, the activity books, it’s all ready to go. And then for the rest of the day we’re running and gunning and our mind’s off food.
Because it can’t start later. Later is too late. (Just ask their mom).
It has to start now.
Do you or your family members catch yourself boredom eating? Can you tell the difference? And is it worse in the summer or are you busier in the summer?
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