Analysis Of Ellen Ruppel Shell's In Praise Of Boredom

739 Words3 Pages

In "In Praise of Boredom," Ellen Ruppel Shell states that children who become bored have the opportunity to grow creativity. As Shell went deeper into the subject, she realized that not many parents give their kids freedom. Shell puts some of the fault on marketing. She argues that marketing manipulates many parents by advertising products and activities. These advertisements make parents believe that it 's the only way their kids will become "successful" and "productive adults." She states that it has made parents worry that without these services their children may be "wasting time" and/or "missing opportunities." She understands that parents don’t believe their children can think for themselves, because they assume kids are too young to know what they want. To test her statement, Shell put her eight year old daughter in the backyard to play. Shell did not give her daughter a set of instructions, because she wanted to examine her daughter 's reaction to boredom. She noticed that her daughter became frustrated, because she did not know what to do with her free time. The girl then began to explore different ways to entertain herself. Shell realized that allowing her child to think for herself, made her feel like she had something to offer. Shell concludes by stating that letting children become independent opens doors for them to become successful. Although Shell is right for stating that children need to explore in order to become confident and successful, she fails to

Open Document