What you need to know about the ‘wow-effect’ parenting hack

Just in time for the summer holidays!

But between work, life admin, cooking and cleaning, there isn’t always time to constantly entertain the kids or come up with creative ways to keep them busy.

And as we all know, turning on the TV or handing over an iPad can feel like the easiest solution in the moment, but many parents are left with that familiar worry about screen time and whether they’re relying on it too much.

So, what is the best way to respond when your children say they're bored?

Encourage them to think about what they’d like to learn.

Children’s author Ty Allan Jackson suggests you can respond along the lines of: “Wow. That’s awesome. What a great opportunity for you to be creative.”

And then he suggests following up with a simple question: “What is something you wish you knew how to do?”

In a reel on Instagram, the TEDx presenter reasoned: “That question will get them thinking and give you directions on how to entertain them, or better yet, on how they can entertain themselves.”

"Of course, there’s every possibility they’ll respond with a shrug or an 'I don’t know'.

Many parents shared that the trick worked well for them, with one user saying she tried the ‘wow method’ with her daughter and recalled that the first time she asked, her daughter “just stared” back at her.

“But then she said she wanted to learn how to use the coffee machine. We tried it together, and soon she was making it by herself,” said the parent. “Before I knew it… she had turned our kitchen into a full-on coffee shop. And wow… it became one of her favourite ways to play.”

Neuroscientist Alicia Walf, a researcher in the Department of Cognitive Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, on the other hand, told Forbes that boredom isn't always a bad thing and that it's actually critical for brain health, pointing out that it can improve social connections and foster creativity too.

Dr Carl Marci agrees with this theory, noting that letting your kids figure out how to keep boredom at bay could be far more beneficial than always stepping in for them.

He went on to explain that when his children tell him he's bored, he'll urge them to go and figure out how to deal with it, without using technology, per The Huffington Post.

“They get mad at me, but after a few minutes, they start to creatively solve their problems or distract themselves with social interaction or play," he explained.