Why ‘Doing Nothing’ Is Still Productive
When summer rolls around, many of us start feeling that familiar pressure to keep our gifted kids learning and engaged. Should we sign them up for more camps? Create a reading challenge? Set a daily routine that keeps their minds busy and their days structured?
As I started thinking ahead, especially about my eight-year-old, I realized I didn’t want to just fill time for the sake of feeling productive. I’ve always had a sense that less can be more, but I wanted to understand why. So I started digging into the research, and what I found reassured me. Children do not need to be constantly occupied to grow. In fact, moments of stillness often provide the richest opportunities for creativity and self-discovery.
The Hidden Value of Rest
Psychologist Dr. Gail Post, in The Gifted Parenting Journey, writes about how gifted children often carry internalized pressure to meet expectations, both real and imagined. Many gifted kids hear how “smart,” “advanced,” or “capable” they are, and while those words are well-intended, they can also create a quiet sense of pressure: the belief that they must always be producing or performing. Over time, this can lead to anxiety, perfectionism, and even burnout.
That is why rest matters. It is not wasted time. Neuroscience research by Immordino-Yang, Christodoulou, and Singh (2012) reveals that when our minds wander, we activate something called the default mode network. During this state, the brain integrates memories, processes emotions, and connects ideas that might not seem related at first glance. In other words, those quiet moments on the couch, in the backyard, or even while staring out the window are when the brain is doing its most meaningful internal work.
Why Boredom Can Be Brilliant
Psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman calls boredom “the seedbed for creativity.” When gifted children have unstructured time, they often start by feeling restless. They might say they are bored or drift around unsure of what to do. But if we resist the urge to intervene, something amazing happens. That discomfort becomes the doorway to imagination. They start to tinker, build, draw, invent, and create their own worlds.
Gifted kids spend much of the school year balancing challenging academics, fast thinking, and high expectations. When their schedules are packed, they do not have the same space to explore open-ended ideas. Boredom gives them that room back. It becomes a reset button that lets creativity flow naturally, without pressure or deadlines.
The Emotional Side of Doing Less
Gifted children often experience the world with deep emotional intensity. They feel more, notice more, and care deeply about justice, fairness, and meaning. This richness can be beautiful, but it can also be exhausting. During the school year, many gifted students are managing multiple layers at once: academic expectations, social challenges, sensory sensitivity, and self-imposed pressure to do well. Summer can provide a much-needed exhale.
When we allow space for calm and reflection, children begin to process experiences they were too busy to think about before. They may sort through feelings from the past year, reconnect with their curiosity, and rediscover joy in learning for its own sake. It is in these slower moments that emotional regulation, confidence, and self-understanding start to grow.
What “Doing Nothing” Might Really Mean
If your child seems to be doing “nothing,” here is what I am reminding myself:
They might be sorting through something that really matters to them.
They might be soaking in a rare moment of quiet.
They might be building an entire world inside their imagination.
Unstructured time gives gifted kids the chance to integrate who they are with what they learn. It lets them see themselves not just as achievers, but as thinkers, dreamers, and humans in progress.
So as you plan your summer, remember that balance is not about adding more, but instead it is about creating space for rest, reflection, and wonder. When we stop equating busyness with growth, we make room for something far more important: authentic curiosity and connection.
Gifted children are often celebrated for what they do, but they are just as extraordinary in the moments when they are simply being.
🌿Laura
Read More:
Sources
Post, G. (2022). The Gifted Parenting Journey: A Guide to Self-Discovery and Support for Families of Gifted Children. Gifted Unlimited, LLC.
Immordino-Yang, M. H., Christodoulou, J. A., & Singh, V. (2012). Rest is not idleness: Implications of the brain’s default mode for human development and education. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 7(4), 352–364. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691612447308
Kaufman, S. B., & Gregoire, C. (2015). Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind. TarcherPerigee.
National Association for Gifted Children. (n.d.). Giftedness defined. https://nagc.org/page/what-is-giftedness
