Were you constantly bored as a child? Maybe that helped you to develop your innate1 ability to be creative.
Boredom2 can be a good thing for children, according to Dr Teresa Belton, researcher at the University of East Anglia's School of Education and Lifelong Learning. After interviewing authors, artists and scientists in Britain, she's reached the conclusion that cultural expectations that children should be constantly active could hamper3 the development of their imagination.
British comedienne and writer Meera Syal grew up in a small mining village with few distractions4. The researcher said: "Lack of things to do spurred her to talk to people she wouldn't otherwise have engaged with and try activities she wouldn't, under other circumstances, have experienced, such as talking to elderly neighbours and learning to bake cakes."
Belton added: "Boredom made her write. Meera Syal kept a diary from a young age, filling it with observations, short stories, poems, and diatribe5."
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