Creativity vs Activity: Transforming Leisure as We Know It
In “Doing Nothing is Something”, by Anna Quindlen, she expresses her concern about the extent of scheduling parents do for their children. She argues that children have lost the sense of what it’s like to have nothing to do, because their parents have enabled them to perpetually be busy. By scheduling every minute of a child’s day, there is no chance for downtime. In order for children to find creativity and explore it they must be allowed time to do nothing. Downtime allows imagination, ingenuity and inventiveness of children to become better thinkers. The current society has become so fast paced, and filled with activity we have lost the importance of what leisure brings, balance.
Creativity best presents itself when there is downtime, it allows one to expand and form ideas within their own minds, which are unlimited. As children, once schoolwork and chores are done, there should be play time, when they can just be kids. Children need time to create moments like fighting giants, and watching dragons attack castles. The reality is, they are fighting an old tree, long past dead with a stick and watching clouds pass in the sky. These are just a couple examples of how creativity and imagination can happen, and should continue. Quindlen writes, “I don’t believe you can write poetry, or compose music, or become and actor without downtime, and plenty of it, a hiatus that passes for boredom but is really the quiet moving of the wheels inside that fuel creativity.” (82). In other words boredom and downtime bring about the opportunity for creativity to flourish if given the chance.
Some adults fear that boredom brings about destructive behaviors in children, they think children simply get into trouble because they have nothing to do. They feel the need to make sure children are busy so boredom isn’t an