Your Kid's Boredom Matters More Than You Think - Lizzie Assa on Independent Play | The Breadwinners Podcast

Most parents think entertaining their kids is the job. Lizzie Assa says the real job is stepping back enough for kids to build the skill of playing independently.

Lizzie Assa, founder of The Workspace for Children and author of But I'm Bored, joins The Breadwinners to break down what independent play actually is and why it's disappearing from modern childhood. Alexis and Lizzie get into the difference between a toy and a prompt, why a bored kid is a sign you're doing something right, and how to build independent play skills from toddlerhood through the teenage years.

What you'll learn:

We co-regulate our kids. When we're a calm presence, they can be one too, they just want to be in the same room as us

The permission slip to do less: stepping back and saying less is what gives kids their lead back

How to look at how your kid is most successful in play, and give them more of that instead of trying to fix how they play

Why a bored kid is usually looking for connection, not an activity

How to look at behavior through the lens of curiosity instead of discipline

Why no kid is a bad kid, and what changes when you actually believe that

Lizzie Assa is a former teacher with a master's degree in education and the founder of The Workspace for Children, a play-based parenting platform with nearly 300,000 followers on Instagram. She is the author of But I'm Bored and works with private clients to build independent play skills in kids of all ages.

Join Lizzie’s community:

https://www.workspaceforchildren.com/

Her Substack: The Workspace for Children

Purchase Lizzie’s ‘But I’m Bored’ book

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