Values of Boredom

Recently Rachel walked in the kitchen while I was playing Scrabble with Hannah and said that she was bored. I suggested she find a little girl and just play. Within minutes there were squeals coming from our back porch. It started as a little splash in the kiddie pool and proceeded to a couple of hours of play with all the girls and ended with their daddy jumping in too.
Usually no one lets on that they are bored because they end up washing windows, mopping floors, or some weird job that I save for such a special time:) I have wondered though that maybe I shouldn't give them something everytime they get bored. They need to learn to entertain themselves or just sit and be quiet. But most of all children need to learn to be content with what they have. In a large family there are a lot of kids to play with, but we can all easily get in the trap of turning on the tv, computer, or going somewhere. Next time you hear, "I'm bored." Try saying, "Find something to do. No tv, computer, or music." I'd like to hear how it turns out.