The Times of India

My kids don't have phones. Its okay being bored: Why Novak Djokovic's approach is an important lesson for modern parents

Every parent has heard it at least once. I'm bored. And usually, the response is the same. Someone hands over a phone. A cartoon is switched on. A tablet appears. Within seconds, the complaint is gone.But what if boredom isn't the problem? What if it's actually something children need more of?That's the idea tennis legend Novak Djokovic touched on in a recent podcast, talking about raising his two children. The 24-time Grand Slam champion shared a way of thinking about parenting that feels almost too simple for a world where kids are entertained nonstop.It wasn't about strict rules or some clever technique. It was about letting kids slow down, sit with their own thoughts, and find their own creativity instead of automatically reaching for a screen.For many modern parents, it is an idea worth reflecting on.Daddy, I'm BoredDjokovic described a day his family spent at his parents' countryside home by a lake. We were playing ping pong, we were kayaking in the lake... We played some football, soccer. So we had a quite active first few hours of the day, he said.Like a lot of families on vacation, they'd spent hours outside: moving around, playing, just being together. Then came the moment most parents will recognize instantly.My son just recently told me a few days ago... Daddy, I'm bored, he recalled in the podcast. After a morning that active, kids often expect something new to happen right away. When it doesn't, boredom arrives and it doesn't feel good. Djokovic didn't rush to fix it. Instead, he turned it into a conversation.It's Okay to Be Bored SometimesInstead of suggesting another activity or handing over a screen, he sat his son down and talked to him. But son, it's okay to be bored sometimes, he said. He reminded his son of everything they'd already done that morning. First of all, you had a great, active morning and you did a lot of things. When you're bored, it doesn't mean that you have to instantly take a book or a screen or anything else.Rather than filling every quiet moment, he encouraged his son to just sit with it.Learning to be alone with your thoughtsOne part of what Djokovic said really stands out, because it goes against how most of us spend our free time now. You need to also learn how to be with your thoughts.For kids growing up surrounded by notifications, videos, and games, silence can feel strange, even uncomfortable.Most parents treat boredom like a problem to solve immediately. Djokovic sees it differently. He thinks those quiet stretches build something far more valuable than nonstop entertainment ever could.If you're bored indoors, go outsideHis advice wasn't complicated. If you're not comfortable being bored indoors, go outdoors. Sit on a chair and have some drink and just look at the sky said Djokovic.No expensive activity. Just going outside. Looking up at the sky. Letting your mind wander. It sounds a little old-fashioned; but it's basically how a lot of us grew up, before phones filled every spare second.Why boredom might Actually Be Good for KidsDjokovic admitted this is easier to say than to actually do. I think that's much easier said than done. I really would love my children to be able to be okay with being bored because that's the time when you're actually most creative.When kids aren't constantly taking in information, they start making their own games, stories, ideas. Imagination tends to show up right where constant stimulation stops.Djokovic also thinks boredom gives kids room to work through feelings that usually get buried under distraction. That's the time when you can manage your thoughts and everything that you have been suppressing by distracting yourself with your phone, with whatever it is, he said.For parents, that might be the real takeaway here. Kids don't just need to be entertained. Sometimes, they need room to think.My kids don't have phonesNear the end of the conversation, Djokovic mentioned something almost in passing that caught a lot of people off guard. My kids don't have phones. They're 11 and 8... and that's another conversation.He wasn't presenting it as a rule everyone should follow. Every family is different, with different routines and different comfort levels around technology. But the comment naturally brings up a question a lot of parents are already asking themselves: do kids really need constant screen access, or have we just gotten uncomfortable letting them be bored?A parenting lesson that's about more than screensAt its core, what Djokovic said isn't really about phones. It's about resisting the urge to fix every uncomfortable moment. Kids don't need to be entertained every single minute. Sometimes, doing nothing is exactly what they need to be doing. So the next time a kid says I'm bored, maybe there's no need to rush in and solve it.That empty moment might turn into a new game, a new idea, a real conversation or just a chance for a kid to find out that being alone with their own thoughts isn't something to be afraid of.In a world that rarely slows down, that might be one of the most important things a parent can teach.